CHAPTER 16: Gravel and Crushed Rock

Roads Stabilized Roads

Road Surfaces of Untreated Soil
Mixtures
Materials
for
Untreated
Road
Surfaces
Grading and Draining for Untreated
Surfacings
Construction Of Untreated Surfacing
Other Surfacing Materials
Maintenance Of Soil-Surfaced Roads
Stabilized Road Surfaces
Sand-Clay Roads
Early Development Of Sand-Clay Road

ROAD SURFACES OF UNTREATED SOIL

MIXTURES
For roads of low traffic volume, surfaces of untreated soil mixtures describe
gravel or crushed rock are widely used. They consist largely of stone pebble
and crushed rock particles combined with clay, lime, iron oxide or other fine
material in sufficient amount to bind the coarse materials together. Many
local occurring materials such as lime rock, shells, caliche, chert, and
volcanic ash are also been satisfactory.
The upper limit of traffic volumes for which untreated road surfaces are
economically varies, but is low; possibly in range of 100 to 250 vehicles per
day when vehicle operating costs are considered. At higher traffic volumes,
surface pitting, the formation of traverse corrugations, the cost of materials
that erode or blow away, and the dry-weather dust problem all mitigate
against their use.
Requisites for road surfaces of untreated soil mixtures are as follows:
1. Stability that is, they must support the superimposed loads without
detrimental deformation.
2. They must stand the abrasive action of traffic.
3. They should shed a large portion of the rain which falls on the surface
since a large amount of water penetrating the surface might cause loss
of stability in the wearing course or softening of the subgrade.
4. They should possess capillary properties in amount sufficient to replace
moisture lost by surface evaporation and thus maintain a desirable
damp condition in which particles are bound together by thin moisture
films.
5. They must be free of large rocks or stones larger than 1 inch so that
they can be maintained by blading or dragging.
6. Finally, they must be low cost, as funds for the improvement of low
traffic roads are limited. This, in return, limits the sources of materials
to the immediate locality, because of high costs involved in
transporting them any great distance.

Further criteria are:

1. Control of grading is essential to ensure stability of granular mixtures
containing soil binders. Limits on the percentages passing No. 40 and
No. 200 sieves offer a suitable check on the part passing No. 10 sieve.
2. Control of the plasticity index is essential. Road surface materials with
a low but measurable plasticity index are to be preferred to absolutely
nonplastic ones and are decidedly superior to those having appreciably
higher plasticity index values.

MATERIALS FOR UNTREATED ROAD

SURFACES
The aim of specifications for the materials for untreated road surfaces is to
produce the important properties. Thus, they control the grading of road
materials, the plasticity of fines and the strength of the aggregate particles.
The AASHTO specifications include an added general requirement with a
purpose. It is that the fraction passing the No. 200 sieve shall not be greater
than two-thirds of the fraction passing the No. 40 sieve. A further stipulation
on surface courses is that all materials lodge under the blade of the motor
grade used for maintenance and tear up the surface.
Regarding strength and soundness of aggregates, the AASHO specification
read in part as follows.
Coarse aggregates retained on the No. 10 sieve (2.00mm) shall consist of
fragments of stone, gravel and slag. Materials break up or alternately frozen
and thawed or wet and dried shall not be used. They shall have percentage
of wear, based on the Los Angeles Rattler Test of no more than 50. Fine
aggregate (passing No. 10 sieve) shall consist of natural or crushed rocks.

Specifications for untreated surface courses are developed to fit local

conditions and agency procedures. Many stipulate that all large or oversized
material in the gravel pit be crushed. In this way, they include all the
tougher, harder stones, and also gain angular shapes and rough surfaces so
important to stability. A cheaper alternative may be screen out the oversized
since it should never be included in the final product. To ensure stability,
agencies that use California bearing-ratio test often require a minimum CBR
of 80; troublesome fines are excluded by limiting the expansion of the
compacted sample on soaking to 1%.

GRADING AND DRAINING FOR UNTREATED

SURFACINGS
For some modern road construction, untreated or dry-gravel surface serve
temporarily as a stage-construction surfacing. This idea applies particularly
where traffic must be carried economically for long distances until a more
durable type of surface can be financed. In such situations, high design
standards for grade and alignment of the roadbed are demanded the outset.
Good practice also dictates that the gravel surface course be full depth
across the entire roadbed width. Trench cross sections, with shoulders
constructed of embankment material, or feather-edge designs, thick at the
centerline and thin at the shoulders, have been generally abandoned.
Cross slopes must be sufficient so that rainwater will not pond and soften the
surface. Slopes as low as in/ft may be satisfactory if the material is
sufficiently stable and watertight but in/ft may sometimes be in order. In
such high crowns are selected, they must be reduced before any kind of
bituminous surface be applied. Also, if the road is on a steep grade, a
substantial cross slope may be needed to direct water to the sides.

CONSTRUCTION
SURFACING

OF

UNTREATED

Untreated surfacing is seldom placed in less than 8 in. in loose depth, which
on compaction is about 6 in thick. Some agencies use loose thicknesses of

10 to 1 in. Commonly, material is distributed from moving dump trucks,

spreader boxes or self powered spreading machines. Distribution in one or
two windrows and spreading with a motor grader is sometimes permitted;
however, this can lead to segregation of coarse from fine sizes. Similarly,
dumping the surfacing in large piles on the sub grade are before spreading
results of segregation. Rolling the surface after placement is standard
practice, but rolling with moisture is scarcely worthwhile except climates
where intermitting rain or where the material itself is moist. Rollers can be
sheepsfoot, grip, automatic, smooth-wheel, or vibratory. Compaction begins
in the edges and regresses towards the center with each passage lapping
about half a width. Rolling with watering and blading if needed, should
continue until the rolled course layer is thoroughly consolidated. Although
power polling with alternate watering is preferable, it is not indispensible.
When rolling is omitted, it is a good practice to extend the successive layers
of surfacing material away from the source supply and to insist that the
hauling vehicles spread their tracking entirely the full road width and not in
ruts.

OTHER SURFACING MATERIALS

Numerous materials, including mine and industrial wastes, if available close
at hand, serve as surfacing to low-traffic roads. In general, the cross sections,
thicknesses and construction and maintenance procedures on untreated soil
surfaces are used. As a rule, special specifications must be viable for them.
Among the most common are:
1. LIMEROCK (MARL) In some southeastern, Gulf Coast and Mississippi
Valley states there are deposits of a soft limerock which has served as
road surface. As a surface course, it has objectionable qualities as a
white glaring surface under sunlight and a tendency to dust under wind
and soften in continued rainy weather.
2. SHELLS Deposits of oyster, clam, and similar shells occur along the
Gulf Coasts, These shells, usually obtained by dredging are used for
facing for lightly travelled roads.
3. CALICHE In parts of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, there occurs a
calcium formation consisting of sands and gravels cemented together
be coats pf calcium carbonate. The chemical was carried in solution by
ground water and remained when the water evaporated. In most
cases, caliche is essentially soft limestone with varying percentages of

clay. It is widely used on low-traffic roads as a surface material and

often a substitute for gravel.
4. CHERT Chert gravels, found in some quantity in the Southern United
States, consists of mixtures of coarse chert particles and fine material
from the dust of fracture and clay. They have given satisfactory service
as surface courses; but, when they were used as base courses;
numerous failures resulted because of excessive amounts of active
binder.
5. VOLCANIC CINDERS Volcanic Cinders occur widely throughout the
western United States and long have been used successfully as a
surface for lightly traveled roads. Careful selection is required since
some have turned to clay on exposure to water and air.
6. LATERITES Laterites are widely used as road surfacing. Grading and
plasticity controls for them parallel those for untreated surfacing.
However, applying rules developed for soils from the temperate
regions to laterites is dangerous since their behavior may be quite
different.

MAINTENANCE
ROADS

OF

SOIL-SURFACED

Routine care of soil surface roads is concerned primarily with maintaining the
smoothness of the road surface. This is done periodically by first cutting off a
thin layer of the surfacing with a motor grader, drag or other device and then
redistributing this layer uniformly over the roadway surface. Depth in this cut
should be sufficient to completely remove any developing corrugations or
potholes. A well-maintained surface probably will show some loose or float
material. In addition, occasional heavy maintenance will be needed.
The frequency with which surfaces are bladed varies tremendously among
agencies. It ranges from once to twice a year to every a week or so
depending on such factors as finances, traffic, and equipment availability.

The most effective routine maintenance is done immediately after a rain. The
surface is soft and can be cut with a blade or drag. The loosened material
fills holes and corrugations and is fixed in place by moisture, coupled with
compactive action of traffic. Blading in dry weather is essential also, since
the uniform cover of floating materials retards or prevents the formation of
washboard and potholes.
An important rule is to cross slope. Otherwise, water will stand and soak and
soften the road surface. Furthermore, the standing water is troublesome to
motorists. Electronic controls for motor graders offer decided advantages.
These devices maintain a constant slope on the blade regardless of the
position of the grader carriage. With them, there is greater certainty of
maintaining an optimum slope.
Every few years, it will be necessary to supply additional surfacing material
to fill ruts and replace material that has worn or blow away. Losses generally
range from to 1 inch of thickness per year, but will vary with a number of
factors such as traffic volume and type, rainfall, and wind intensity and
frequency, and maintenance practices.

STABILIZED ROAD SURFACES

Stabilized roads have been long denoted a class of surfacing built by
combining soil and a mineral material or by adding calcium or sodium
chloride or certain organic compounds to the mineral or its surface.

SAND-CLAY ROADS
Sand-clay roads are favorable mixtures of clay, silt, fine and coarse sand,
and possibly some fine gravel. Successful practice with sand-clay
construction must be based on the principles previously laid down for
untreated surface courses. Furthermore, such roads are economical in areas
where suitable sources of sand and clay are available locally.

EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF SAND-CLAY

ROAD

Observations in the South Atlantic states during the light traffic of the period
1900-1910 showed the road surfaces of topsoil, gray soil, gray grit,
black tobacco soil, upland soil, and rotten granite were usually
successful. Roads were built by simply hauling the soil onto the roadbed and
depositing a thick layer which consolidated and cured under traffic. It was
recognized that the clay binder should just fill the voids in the sand, but
usually, no precise measurement of voids was made. It was further observed
that excess clay deformed the roads and that insufficient clay caused
raveling. It soon became apparent that good surfacing could be produced by
combining sand and clay from separate sources.
When the subgrade was clay, it was covered with a few inches of sand and
plowed and disk-harrowed, preferably when moist. When the subgrade was
sand, an even layer of dry clay was spread, beginning next to the clay pit so
that hauling broke up clay lumps. Another layer of sand was added; then
usually it was considered necessary to plow and harrow. Advantage was
taken of rains, and sand and clay was added as conditions developed.
Such early roads were cheap When labor in the South could had for $1/day
and teams for $3, and the average haul did not exceed a mile, a 12-ft-wide
sand-clay road, 6 inches deep consolidated, could be built for $600/mi.
Sometimes roads were built for as low as $300/mi.

CHAPTER 17: Base Courses

Aggregate Requirements
Payment

Treated Base Course

Sand-Bitumen Base Courses
Fine-Grained Soil-Bitumen Bases
Cement
Stabilization
and
Base
Courses
Design of Cement-Stabilized Mixtures
Construction of Cement-Stabilized
Bases
Curing
Cement Modified Soils
Cement Treated Granular Bases
Lime Stabilized Bases and Sub-bases

BASE COURSE

The base course or base course in pavements is a layer of material in

an asphalt roadway that is located directly under the surface layer. If there is
a sub base course, the base course is constructed directly above this layer.
Otherwise, it is built directly on top of the sub grade. Typical base course
thickness ranges from 4 to 6 inches and is governed by underlying layer
properties. Generally consisting of a specific type of construction aggregate,
it is placed by means of attentive spreading and compacting to a minimum
of 95% relative compaction, thus providing the stable foundation needed to
support either additional layers of aggregates or the placement of an asphalt
concrete wearing course which is applied directly on top of the base course.

AGGREGATE REQUIREMENTS
Aggregate and supplementary granular material shall consist of sound
durable particles of crushed rock, gravel, stone, sand and fines free from sod,
roots and organic material.
The crush count is the percentage by weight of aggregate particles
retained on a 4.75 mm sieve which are not shale or ironstone and which
have at least one freshly fractured face.
Shale Content is the percent by weight of the particles retained on a
4.75 mm sieve that are shale particles. Clay balls are the percent by weight
of particles retained on a 12.5 mm sieve that are clay particles. The
aggregate shall be well-graded and shall not vary from maximum to
minimum of the specification ranges for consecutive tests.

PAYMENT

Payment for Granular Base Course and Granular Shoulder Base Course
shall be at the contract unit price per ton. The unit price shall be full
compensation for completing the work except for those activities for
which specific provision for payment is made in this section.
The rate that the Department shall pay for rejecting aggregate in
excess of 10% shall be as designated in the Special Provisions of the
contract.
If the contract includes a bid item for:

(a) Hauling Granular Base Course, Hauling Granular Shoulder Base

Course and/or Hauling Binder, Filler and Blender Sand; payment shall be
made in accordance with Specification 2405 For Hauling On The Basis Of
the Kilometer.
(b) Watering; payment shall be made in accordance with Specification
2500 For Watering.
(c) Binder, Filler And Blender Sand; payment shall be made in
accordance with Specification 3400 For Binder, Filler and Blender Sand.
(d) Prime, Tack or Flush Coat; payment shall be made in accordance
with Specification 4000 For Bituminous Prime, Tack and Flush Coat.

All remedial work shall be performed at the Contractors expense

including the cost of materials.

TREATED BASE COURSE

Cement Treated Bast (CTB) is a compacted mixture of graded aggregate,
cement, and water, which is used as a base course for the construction of
highways, airport runways and taxiways. The primary difference between
CTB and soil cement is that CTB usually utilizes a graded aggregate instead
of the native soils. It is primarily used to provide a structurally sound base
material over such things as expansive clay.
It has been laboratory proven to equal or exceed the modulus of sub grade
reaction (k) of a thicker coarse of crushed stone sub-base and the flexural
stress of a thicker coarse of lime stabilized clay. Other benefits of CTB over
crushed stone sub-base include the ability to distribute loads over a greater
area and its resistance to sub-grade failures associated with freeze/thaw
cycles.
Close control and thorough mixing of the material is required in order to
meet specifications while staying within budget, both of which will be
obtained through the use of continuous mixing plant. This close control and
thorough mixing will not always be accomplished when mixing in place. A
intimate mixture of native and/or manufactured aggregates with measured

amounts of Portland cement (and possibly other cementations materials) and

water that hardens after compaction and curing to form a strong durable
paving material

SAND BITUMEN BASE COURSES

Sand bitumen base courses consist of loose sand from beach, dune,
pit, or river cemented with bituminous materials. Sand clay mixtures have
long been used as road surfaces and for base courses. Bitumen, consisting of
cutback asphalts, emulsified asphalts, or tars have often been substituted for
the clay binder to produce excellent base courses for highways and airports.
Sands, to be suitable for sand bitumen bases must be relatively
clean. Grading is not critical, but the sand must be stable; that is the surface
properties and grain shape must be such that they will resist displacement
under load. If the sand is not satisfactory, it may be blended with sharp
angular particles such as crushed aggregates, stone or slag screenings,
stone dust, loess, cement, or other substantially non-cohesive mineral
matter to produce a stable mixture.
Bituminous binders range from paving grades of asphalt cements for
hot plant mixes through the medium viscosity, rapid or medium-curing
as[halts, slow-setting emulsified asphalts, or tars, grades RT-6 to RT-10. The
percentage of binder by weight ranges from 4 to 10.
Combination of the sand with the binder has been achieved by mix-inplace methods using cultivators, harrows, and blades, with travelling
mixers, and at a central mixing plant. Compaction is done with pneumatictired or smooth wheeled rollers.

FINE GRAINED SOIL BITUMEN BASES

Bitumen-stabilized bases and sub-grades have been formed of finegrained soils having Pls up to 6 and 10, respectively. Also, soils with Pls up to
30 have been processed if pretreated with lime. Others have reported that
soils with up to 50% passing the No. 200 sieve and Pls up to 18 can be
stabilized without pretreatment.

CEMENT STABILIZATION OF SOILS AND

BASE COURSES
Stabilizing soils and aggregate base courses by adding Portland
cement is a widespread practice, first carried out in 1915. Such mixtures,
protected by a bituminous surface treatment, serve as pavements for lightly
traveled roads. For major thoroughfares, they may replace the untreated
bases under bituminous or Portland-cement-concrete pavements.
Cement stabilization calls for an intimate mixture of natural materials
and Portland cement, compacted at optimum moisture content and cured to
hydrate the cement. It forms a strong, stable base that has limited
susceptibility to changes in moisture and temperature. It is considerably less
rigid that Portland-cement-concrete. Its modulus of elasticity can range from
100,000 for clay soils with little cement up to 1 million for the strongest
mixtures; compressive strength is in the range of 300-600 psi and flexural
strengths about 20% of compressive values.
Cement reacts with fine-grained soil particles in two ways. First, by
surface chemical action it quickly produces flocculation and reduces the
moisture affinity of clays. Second, and more slowly, it promotes cementation.

DESIGN
MIXTURES

OF

CEMENT-STABILIZED

Satisfactory cement-stabilized mixtures also called soil-cement have

been produced with a wide range of native materials. They fall into three
general subdivisions:
a.) Sandy and gravelly soils containing less than 25% silt and clay
b.) Sands deficient in fines, such as beach, glacial sand, and windblown
sand
c.) Silty and clayey soils
Cement contents vary from 5 to 14% by volume or 3 to 16% by weight
of dry aggregates. Sandy and gravelly soils require lower amounts, whereas
silty and clayey soils for the higher percentage.

Dry densities for cement-stabilized mixtures compacted by the

AASHTO standard method range from 135lb/ft for well graded gravel down
to 85lb/ft for silty or clayey soils.
To determine the cement content to be used with a particular soil,
samples containing various percentages of cement are tested as outlined.
Percentages of loss permitted in either test, as recommended by FHWA
Implementation Package 80-2 are:
AASHTO Soil Classification M 145

Maximum Loss in Test

(%)
A-1, A-2, A-3
A-4, A-5
A-6, A-7

14
10
7

CONSTRUCTION OF CEMENT-STABILIZED
BASES
Construction of cement-stabilized bases
involves spreading,
compacting, and curing an intimate mixture of natural material, cement, and
water on a prepared sub-grade or sub-base. In some instances, the existing
road surface is plowed and pulverized to provide the soil portion; again, it
may be brought in from a nearby borrow site. Where the soil is to be
imported, plant mixing in a continuous or batch type mixer has certain
advantages.
Before soil-cement processing is begun, the roadway must be shaped
to proper grade and cross slope. Otherwise, the more expensive soil
cement layer must serve as a leveling course of variable thickness if the
roadway surface is to be smooth.
Cement may be distributed in a variety of ways. On early projects, it
was delivered in sacks and spread over the surface by hand. Today, most
deliveries are in bulk in dump or hopper trucks.
Early soil cements were processed by the train-processing method,
where mixing was accomplished with a number of pieces of farm type
equipment operating in sequence. This procedure still is economical under
some circumstances.
Soils cements often are first compacted with sheepsfoot rollers,
beginning at the edges and working toward the center. Very sandy soils that

cannot be compacted with a sheepsfoot are processed by pneumatic-tired

rollers instead. Vibratory compactors are also used. Compaction of the top 1
or 2 inches is commonly by pneumatic-tired roller, preceded by shaping with
a blade grader or sub-grading machine. Final compaction is usually with a
smooth-wheel roller.
Hydration of the cement begins when water and cement come
together. To prevent setting before the mix is compacted; specifications may
limit the length of the mixing, compacting, and surface-finishing interval. The
1979 FHWA specification set a 2-hr limit and 1 hr between the beginning of
mixing and start of compaction on the roadway.

CURING
Evaporation of moisture from the completed soil-cement must be
prevented until hydration of the cement is complete. Bituminous seals of
light RC or MC grades, emulsions, and tars have all been used satisfactory.

CEMENT-MODIFIED SOILS
Implies adding sufficient cement to a fine-grained soil to reduce its
plasticity to meet a particular requirement; however, the amount added is
less than is needed to produce soil cement. For example, as with lime
stabilization, it may be less costly to control the expansion of in-place soils
by adding cement than to remove them or to cover them with non-expansive
material.

CEMENT-TREATED GRANULAR BASES

Cement added to granular base courses increase their tensile and
flexural strength, binds the particles more tightly, and provides excellent
waterproofing. The materials have a relatively low strength and modulus of
elasticity as compared to regular concrete.
The California Department of Transportation has made extensive use of
both road-mix and plant-mix cement-treated bases under bituminous and
Portland-cement-concrete pavements. Aggregate grading is about the same
as for granular bases. A somewhat poorer quality fines is acceptable, with

the send-equivalent minimum set at a moving average of 21. Cement

content of class A base is not to exceed 5% by weight of dry aggregate;
however samples must develop a seven day compressive strength of 750 psi
minimum. For the class B base, the aggregate must have a minimum R value
of 60; this must exceed 80 after mixing with 2% or less cement

LIME-STABILIZED BASES AND SUBBASES

Lime as a stabilizing agent was used in construction of the Appian Way
and many other Roman roads. It was also employed for this purpose in
ancient Greece, India, and China. Particularly since WWII its beneficial effects
on soil behavior have been increasingly recognized. It is now widely
employed both to make clay-bearing soils suitable as subbases and to
enhance the strength and other properties of potentially useful base course
materials which contain clay. The stabilization process results because
calcium hydroxide (CaOHsub2) commonly called lime. Because of the
chemical complexity of clays, lime stabilization has not always been
effective. Also, lime produced from different raw materials will react
differently.
Lime is commonly delivered is slaked form, Ca(OH)sub2, either as a
powder or a slurry. At times, bulk unslaked quicklime, CaO is used but
because it is caustic and also generates heat when slaked with water. Lime
stabilization of natural materials for bases and subbases is intended both to
reduce plasticity and the accompanying volume changes with moisture
content and to increase strength.