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URBAN ROAD MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT & REPAIRING TECHNIQUES

Conference Paper · January 2020

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 URBAN ROAD MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT &
REPAIRING TECHNIQUES
Debarshi Sahoo1, Sagnik Paul Choudhury1, Purnachandra Saha2
1
Student, School of Civil Engineering, KIIT Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, India,
([email protected] , [email protected])
2
Faculty, School of Civil Engineering, KIIT Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, India,
([email protected])

Abstract: To match the global demand of roadway connectivity need of urban road
construction, maintenance and management has turned into a major research area over the
years. The objective of this study is to discuss about the different urban road maintenance
management system & existing road repair techniques to give an overview of the available
alternatives. This study can help to establish a better road management system while planning
for construction of a new road and also to look after the existing ones. The deterioration of the
roads during heavy raining, snowfall, excessive hot weather & other seasonal effect along with
natural calamities and human activities causes severe failure like cracking, distortion, bleeding
or flushing, potholes etc. which impacts the road transport system and encourage accidents.
The urban road maintenance management majorly deals with these problems to establish a well
maintained management system to come up with the best possible solution to mitigate these
problems within a stipulated time. Study of different repairing techniques can help to identify
the proper types of damage of the road and accordingly apply the repair techniques to solve it.
Keywords: road maintenance management, road repair techniques, urban road, winter road.

1. Introduction
With the growth in global population and infrastructure, requirement of proper mode of
transportation has become an integral part of it. And to fulfill this need urban road construction,
maintenance and management technology has evolved over the years. Although the need for
maintenance is widely recognized and different countries have shown interest to conduct
researches in this field, it is still not getting adequately done. On an average the countries all
over the world spend around only 20–50 percent of what they should be spending on
maintenance of their road network. [1-2] This shows a lack of interest and improper
management system for road maintenance which need to be upgraded in order to achieve a
better transportation system. The deterioration of the roads during heavy raining, snowfall,
excessive hot weather & other seasonal effect along with natural calamities and human
activities causes severe failure like cracking, distortion, bleeding or flushing, potholes etc.
which impacts the road transport system and increase the chances of accidents. [3] The urban
road maintenance management majorly deals with these problems to establish a well
maintained management system which can show best possible solutions to mitigate these
problems within a stipulated time. [4-5] Different repairing techniques are available which can
be applied after inspecting the proper cause of the damage. These alternative repair techniques
are also discussed in this paper. The information available in this area are in a very scattered
way and no literature review has been done on this yet so far. So a proper study is required
which can show us the different available alternatives for urban road maintenance and
management, at one place. [6]
2. Urban Road Maintenance Management
A road which is located within the boundaries of a particular area is defined as an urban road.
The characterization of urban roads are done generally on the presence of street lighting and
also the presence of kerbs and adjacent to the edge of road. The 2001 Communities and Local
Government definition of Urban Settlements defines urban roads as roads that have a
population of 10,000 or more. The various maintenance works involve snow removal, painting
of roads, mowing of grass, brush cleaning, placement of signs, filling of cracks and potholes
and other miscellaneous tasks. The equipment present directly dictate the labor forces for road
construction. Excavators and hauling trucks are used for excavation and graders are operated.
Other tasks such as placing of road bases and installation of guardrail and other maintenance
tasks are done. [2-3] Any modern city expansion process has an integral part which involves
the major developing of its urban road infrastructure system. Millions and millions of
commuters totally depend on a vast and fast road system which makes roads a valuable asset
to any developing or developed nation. This is why, road maintenance management is such an
important part because it ensure smooth traffic even during heavy traffic conditions. The
various tasks at hand such as target consideration, its countermeasures and the funding play an
important role in the highest possible level of road maintenance. [6] To manage the traffic, road
conditions, and maintenance system, a large number of software has been recently developed
based on Geographical Information System (GIS) which is being implemented widely. [7]

Figure 1: Typical flow chart of road maintenance management and planning

Cut and fill operations, Grading, Base preparation and placement, Surface material placement,
Curbing and guardrail placement are some of the road construction methods. So the road
maintenance management planning is a measure for solving the issue of management of urban
road maintenance at present. So, there must be an integrated and scientific maintenance
management planning. There is a severe need to realize the various scientific and modern
methods of road maintenance. The investment criteria of government on the maintenance of
roads and their management helps in properly funding to effectively regulate the management
of road maintenance. There must be a strict analysis of the technical aspects for a scientific
development planning. The mission of maintenance management planning is to create a well-
designed road having the maximum life span within the right capital costs. It should ensure
easy workability and less hazardous way of travelling. A typical flow chart describing the road
maintenance management and planning has been shown in Figure 1. [6-8]
2.1 Winter Road Maintenance Management
Winter weather has a significant impact on road safety. Reduced friction levels, ice formation
on the road and poor visibility due to blowing snow contributes to increased collision risk.
Road safety during severe winter can be improved through dedicated and efficient winter road
maintenance. [8] Winter road maintenance refers to the procedures that are done to restore road
surface conditions to a specified level of service. The commonly used methods are salting,
sanding, direct liquid application, and plowing. [9]

Figure 2. Damages in cold weather road

The advancements in polymers have been a boon for all the newly constructed or under-
construction roads. Polymer-coating has the potential to decrease slippery conditions of
pavements. [10] Safe lane is overlaying surface solution where the application of epoxy to the
pavement surface and the accumulation of aggregates over the pavement surface provide
immense strength. The latter acts like a strong and hard sponge which slows down the release
performance for the applied force. The two types of anti-icing additives are calcium chloride
and sodium chloride substitutes. [11]

Figure 3. Salt spray is used on pavements to keep ice at bay

However, there is great potential for savings in winter road maintenance by the usage of
measurements made from vehicles. The practice of selective salting is linked to temperature
variations. [10]
3. Urban Road Repair Techniques
Road maintenance involves the remedies of defects such as potholes, cracks, distortions,
bleeding etc. that occur in the pavement with time. So repair treatments such as overlaying
different materials, crack sealing, patching, piping and other techniques are adopted to repair
the road and maintain the health of the road. There are also some preventative maintenance
measures which can be taken into consideration if needed.
3.1 Concrete Panels & Concrete Overlay
Ultra-high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete add to the strength of concrete buildups
because of its high density microstructure and damage-negotiating features. This results in the
reduction of the time interval between repairing, rehabilitation, and maintenance of the
pavements ensuring higher service life. The three categories of pavement repair are using
conventional concrete, rapid setting concrete, and precast panels. [15]

Pavement Repair Using Conventional Concrete

From a very long time, concrete has been used. Due to this, contractors and workers have all
the necessary equipment. [12] Conventional concrete has better workability and easily
procurable. Compared with other concretes, it is cost effective and a longer life span. It is
disadvantageous because it takes considerable construction and curable time. [13]

Pavement Repair Using Rapid Setting Concrete

This type of mixture is personalized for obtaining high strength in the early stages. Within a
few hours, the desired strength is obtained. The pavement can be driven with least downtime
for opening. [13] The only downside to this concrete is that it has a low strength at the final
stages. Problems like air voids, less consistent mixture, alkaline silica reactions and increased
micro cracking. The problem of scaling is a major one. These problems result in a shorter life
capacity of rapid setting concrete as compared to regular concrete. An experienced labor force
is required and the concrete has low workability. If the specifications are not met properly, the
concrete is broken down and done again correctly. [14]

Pavement Repair Using Precast Panels

The usage of precast slabs allows us to rapidly repair the pavements. The precast panels are
made in an industrial setup under a controlled environment. Due to this, the quality is good.
The strength can be increased by prestressing. [12] The usage of such panels come with various
obstacles. An experienced labor force is required and the concrete has low workability. Also,
transporting the panels and setting them is a hassle. During transportation, if the edges get
broken-down, then repairing them is quite a hassle. [14]

Ultra-high-performance fiber reinforced concrete (UHP-FRC), Helps in delaying the

deterioration due to traffic and environmental conditions. UHP-FRC is a fiber reinforced
concrete which has high and early compressive strength and is quite ductile in nature. Although
only high compressive concrete is not suitable for structural implementation. Even if we
reinforce it with mild steel, it’s still brittle which can cause sudden uncertain and unpredictable
failure due to the less capacity of redistribution of stress. [15] By changing of porous nature of
traditional concrete mixture and by minimizing the sizes of micro cracking, UHP-FRC was
created. Low water to cement ratio and dense packing of particles produces no shrinkage or
creep which allows long term loading which finally pertains high compression and liquid
contact is delayed. [14] The additional steel and synthetic fibers lessens the brittleness of
concrete. This increases resistance towards tensile cracks, ductility and energy absorbing
capacity. UHPFRC has greater durability as compared to conventional concrete due to the
dense micro-structure. [15]

Figure 4. Concrete panel fixing over existing pavement

3.2 Asphalt Overlay

Asphalt pellets is highly energy-efficient and could reduce traffic disruption and improve
health and safety conditions for operators. The use of asphalt pellets is to repair potholes by
using induction energy. This technology ensures less power consumption as it is only heated
once before filling the holes. [16] Rehabilitation and distressed bituminous and concrete
pavements are done with Asphalt concrete overlay. The performance varies significantly for
Asphalt overlay. So, it is necessary to develop a guideline for selecting the most efficient pre
overlay repairing methods. [17] There are four categories of overlay projects namely AC
pavements, JPCP, COMP pavements and CRC. These are based on the types of pavements
which were placed prior to the overlay. There are five pre-overlay repairing methods which
are generally applied. These are milling, mill and relay, cold in place recycling, patching of
surface and no treatment. [17] Repeated loads can cause Cumulative fatigue damage which
leads to formation of asphalt pavement potholes after their repairmen. A pothole that recurs
generally starts with the bonding surface just between the repaired material and the previously
laid asphalt pavement. There are three categories of fatigue of Asphalt mix which are
decelerating fatigue, constant speed fatigue and acceleration of fatigue. [18]
3.3 Grouting
Grout is a dense fluid majorly comprising of cement paste and cement mortar which is used to
fill cracks or gaps. The process of applying this mixture with application of pressure is known
as grouting. [22] The same concept can also be used to replace the cement mortar with different
chemical substituents, which can be applied on flexible pavements to repair the cracks. The
semi-flexible urban pavement grouting materials, mainly consisted of cement, coal ash, mineral
powder, and water along with cement paste and cement mortar. In general it is expected that
the grouting material of semi-flexible pavement should have good fluidity, ductility, adequate
flexural and compressive strength as well as better resistance to drying shrinkage which may
vary with the composition ratio of the mix. [19] Now-a-days high performance concrete
superplasticizer consisting of polymers are being used to produce flow-able slurries that can
penetrate the pavement easily under gravitational action. This chemical admixture is different
from conventional superplasticizer because cement dispersion can be greatly improved. Hence,
producing slurries of higher fluidity. [20]
 Figure 5. Cement mortar grouting & chemical grouting on urban pavement.

3.4 Shingling
Shingles are a covering consisting of individual overlapping elements. These elements are
typically flat, rectangular shapes and laid in courses from one end of the pavement to the other
end of it, with each successive course overlapping the previous one at joints. This type of
repairing technique is preferred in the locations where the pavement is very sensitive to
temperature and need to be protected from the high variation in temperature or extreme weather
conditions. [21] This shingles are generally manufactured at on place and then transported to
the site and spread over the road surface. As the joints are overlapping they are crucial because
there is a high chance of seeping of surface water, so special cares are to be taken while sealing
those joints. At the same time this is a very quick and effective technique for repairing the roads
where traffic flow is not supposed to be blocked due to maintenance for a long time. Majorly
in winter roads this technique is adopted. [22]

Figure 6. Repair of a cold weather road using Figure 7. View of a road, before & after
Shingles Grading

3.5 Grading
Grading is a very basic process of constructing any new road, where the landscape construction
has to ensure a level base, or has a specified slope, for a construction work such as a foundation,
the base course for a road or a railway, where surface drainage designs are to be taken into
account to provide a specified slope. [23] While upgrading the earthen roads into an urban road,
grading is the only preferred option available out there. The earthworks created for such
grading is known as the sub-grade. Grading can enable construction on lands that were steeply
sloped previously. When there is a change in drainage pattern, the surface flow needs to be
rerouted, improvement works are to be done for terrain stability, grading is a very good option.
[24]

3.6 Patching
Patching is a technique of temporarily repairing the small scale road damages in which liquid
asphalt is filled into a hole and then rolled over. It is typically done in winter, rainy or adverse
weather conditions when a quick recovery in the pavement is required. This is the most
common way of repairing roads with small damages. [23] Sometimes in shingled roads, which
are poorly consolidated are prone to potholes and ruts and the shingles can also accumulate at
the centre and edges of the road, at that time patching is also required over shingles. [24]

Figure 8. A flexible pavement before & after patching the pothole.

3.8 Piping and Draining

Heavy rains can cause clogging of water and cause damage to the roads. The water is drained
through pipelines laid under the pavements by digging through the ground and laying them.
Piping underneath the road can be done because of many purpose. Piping provide a drainage
facility underneath the pavement. [25] Apart from that it also provide a good frame which can
resist the load coming from subgrade and distribute it into the sub soil. Some major drains run
alongside the roads resulting in proper drainage of water. Poorly maintained drains could result
in flooding and damage to the road surfaces. So providing underlying drainage and piping
system is better option to prevent many of the future problems. [24]

Figure 9. Piping & Draining under pavement

CONCLUSION
Different types of urban road maintenance management system and repair techniques has been
compared and studied. It was found that the maintenance management systems are developed
based on a number of case studies, but can also be implemented in similar type of environment.
The different available repair techniques like overlay, patching, bridging, grading, piping etc.
also covers a wide range of problems and can be implemented directly after investing the proper
cause of the damage. The following observations has been made from this study:
i. GIS-based road maintenance management tools can assist in decision making
regarding maintenance prioritization of urban roads.
ii. UHP-FRC can impart high yield strength & longer life span of pavements which
can be used for immediate road maintenance.
iii. Polymer coating and Safe Lane are one of the best ways to deal with the problems
in urban roads in cold regions.
iv. Grouting can be considered as the most suitable option for repairing minor cracks.
v. Asphalt overlay and patching are good alternatives for repairing potholes other
minor road damages in most of the cases.

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