Efficient rural road transport is a critical element of the Saskatchewan economy. Unfortunately, a significant portion of the Saskatchewan road network is experiencing increased rates of deterioration due to their service age, as well as increasing commercial transport pressures. This is particularly the case for the secondary road system. The Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure has recently set the mandate to upgrade asignificant portion of secondary road system to primary weight limit loadcarrying capacity. However, given the recent rising costs associated with conventional road strengthening systems and a reduction in available granular aggregate material, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure has been investigating alternative road strengthening systems including granular overlays, cement stabilization, fiber stabilization, and ionic stabilization. This paper presents the results of a multi-year field study of the structural performance and seasonal effects across six different road strengthening systems constructed on both primary (Pavement A) and secondary (Pavement C) road grade structures. Based on the findings ofthis study, cementitious strengthening and conventional granular overlayswith and without geogrid reinforcement have provided structural enhancement of both secondary and primary standard road grades. It was also confirmed that pavement structures constructed on Pavement A road grades performsignificantly better structurally relative to secondary weight limit roadgrades. Ionic stabilization and flax straw fibers reinforced structures yield a low structural performance relative to the other test sections constructed. This study also demonstrated that seasonal climatic effects candecrease the structural integrity of road strengthening systems by up to 14 percent on Pavement A road grades and by up to 47 percent on Pavement Croad grades.
Samenvatting