An increasing realisation in road pavement asset management is the value derived from improvement to the resiliency of a pavement. This has been most obvious in locations affected by extreme weather, such as heavy rainfall and flooding events. In such cases, it has been found that stabilised pavements have suffered considerably less damage than untreated pavements.
In-situ stabilisation techniques have long been used by engineers in Australia and throughout the world for pavement construction and rehabilitation. Historically, over the last 50 years since stabilisation has been used in Australia, and especially over the last few decades when these techniques have been used more frequently, the decision by pavement managers to choose stabilisation has been on the basis of the significant up-front cost savings. Where applicable, rehabilitation using stabilisation techniques commonly offers savings of 30% and in some cases even greater than 50% compared to reconstruction alternatives. These cost savings are the direct and most apparent benefits. Additional social benefits, such as the speed of construction and lack of public disruption have also been recognised, along with the environmental benefits derived from reuse of existing in-situ pavement materials. However, increasing interest is being taken in the resiliency benefits of stabilised pavements.
This presentation will cover the basic forms of in-situ pavement recycling and stabilisation along with practical examples of pavement treatments that have delivered qualitative improvements in pavement resilience. Examples will be presented ranging from cementitious treatments of unsealed roads through to foamed-bitumen stabilisation of heavily trafficked roads.