ROAD CONSTRUCTION IN PALSA FIELDS

Palsa is an important feature of the discontinuous permafrost regions of northwestern Quebec. Because of the development of hydroelectric complexes along La Grande and Great Whale rivers, the road network will be expanded by the addition of 2000 km of road with many sections crossing palsa fields. Problems related to the design, construction, and maintenance of roads in palsa fields are identified and described. The observations are mainly based on the performance of a test embankment built 3 years ago on a large palsa and the performance of 620 km of road, paved in 1976, that cuts through several palsa fields. The topics discussed are topology, occurrence and distribution of palsa fields in northern Quebec, dating of palsa ice, description of a typical palsa field, description of the physical characteristics of a typical palsa, temperature regime in the palsa, performance of an instrumented test embankment 3 years after construction, performance and maintenance history of a 6-year-old paved road that crosses several palsa fields, and predicted versus observed rate of settlement of existing embankments. Based on the results of these investigations, recommendations are made for the design and maintenance of roads that cross palsa fields.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1984/978/978-005.pdf
• Record URL:
  • https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=ROAD+CONSTRUCTION+IN+PALSA+FIELDS&author=J.+Keyser&author=M.+Laforte&publication_year=1984
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309037603
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Frost Action. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Keyser, J Hode
  • Laforte, M A
• Conference:
  • 63rd Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board
  • Location: Washington District of Columbia, United States
  • Date: 1984-1-16 to 1984-1-20
• Publication Date: 1984

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; Maps; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 26-36
• Monograph Title: Construction and difficult geology: karstic limestone, permafrost, wetlands, and peat deposits
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 978
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Construction; Highway design; Highway maintenance; Permafrost; Road construction; Topography
• Old TRIS Terms: Construction problems
• Subject Areas: Construction; Geotechnology; Highways; I42: Soil Mechanics;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00396852
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309037603
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Jan 31 1986 12:00AM