Surface Condition Survey of The Thika-Magumu Road Pavement

Abstract

In developing countries, large sums of money are spent annually to enhance and maintain road networks as allocated by road authorities. The need of road users in most countries all over the world is to have safe, economic, and smooth roads despite pressure on road authorities to further reduce expenditure. Money allocation for road infrastructure is among the many priorities competing for government funds, thus causing the pressure. The objective of this thesis was to evaluate the performance of the Thika-Magumu road, identify the defects on the pavement, and finally find the best remedy for the defects established. This was done by visual inspection, in which the road was inspected and photographs taken. Surface regularity tests were carried out to determine the extent of ruts on the road. Roughness measurement was carried out to determine the roughness of the road, PSR to verify the rating of the road, the deflection of the road was measured using the FWD and traffic analysis was done to determine the axle loading on the Thika-Magumu road and the effect on the pavement. There were different types of pavement distress that enhanced the cost of maintenance of this road, such as a pothole and a crack. The usefulness of the research findings was that it gave a guide on the process to prolong the life span of the pavement hence reducing the need to replace the pavement and also the finding were used to assist the government and road authorities in budgeting for road maintenance