CONSTRUCTION AND PERFORMANCE OF PAVEMENT OVER MUSKEGS

The long-term performance of embankment and pavement over muskegs along the James Bay access road is described. The road was built in 1973 in a discontinuous permafrost region. The embankments were designed by a preloading method based on the Von Post classification. Twenty-four embankment sections over deep muskegs were selected from a total of 54 for detailed performance studies. They have been characterized by their distribution along the road; their geometry; the type and quality of their underlying soil; the Von Post classification; the shear strength and depth of their peat materials; and the height, type, and typical cross section of their embankment. The performance of pavement built over deep muskegs has been defined in terms of long-term settlement, change in pavement roughness, structural behavior, and deterioration of the surface. On the whole, 8 years after construction, the performance of pavement built over deep muskeg is satisfactory: Long-term settlement generally varies between 25 and 50 percent of the thickness of the peat deposit except where ice is present under the peat; the riding quality, which still has a good rating, is 50 percent rougher over peat deposits than elsewhere; there is a loose relationship between the height of embankment and the maximum deflection; the dynamic modulus of peat under the embankment is on the order of 50 mPa under Dynaflect loading conditions; and longitudinal cracking is two to four times greater over peat deposits than in other areas.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1984/978/978-011.pdf
• Record URL:
  • https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=CONSTRUCTION+AND+PERFORMANCE+OF+PAVEMENT+OVER+MUSKEGS&author=J.+Keyser&author=M.+Laforte&publication_year=1984
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• Supplemental Notes:
  • Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Exploration and Classification of Earth Materials. 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; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 68-80
• 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; Deflection; Depth; Dynamic modulus of elasticity; Embankments; Pavement performance; Pavements; Paving; Peat; Permafrost; Shear strength
• Uncontrolled Terms: Muskeg
• Old TRIS Terms: Construction problems; Pavement deflection
• Subject Areas: Construction; Geotechnology; Highways; Pavements; I42: Soil Mechanics;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00396858
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309037603
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Jan 31 1986 12:00AM