GROUND IMPROVEMENT TECHNIQUIES

FOR HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION

IN BLACK COTTON SOIL AREAS :
A Case History
By
Dr. S. S. Seehra
Additional Director (Highways)
Intercontinental Consultants and Technocrats Pvt. Ltd.,
New Delhi 110 016
&
(Former Director Grade Scientist & Head,
Rigid Pavements Division, CRRI, New Delhi)
Intercontinental Consultants and Technocrats Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi

Introduction
What are Black Cotton (BC) Soils?
BC soils are inorganic clays of medium to high compressibility and form
a major soil group in India (20% of the total area of India)
These soils are characterised by high shrinkage and swelling properties
Road construction in BC soils has been a challenge to the Highway
Engineers
BC soil is very hard when dry, but loses its strength completely when in
wet condition
On drying, the BC soil develops cracks (Fig. 1)
As a result of wetting and drying process, vertical movement takes
place in the BC soil mass
This vertical movement leads to failure of highway pavement in the form
of settlement, heavy depression, cracking and unevenness etc.

Fig.1: Cracks in BC Soil on Dry State

Black Cotton Soil: Peculiar Characteristics

BC soil is a highly clayey soil
It is so hard that the clods cannot be easily pulverised
The black colour in BC soil is due to the presence of Titanium Oxide
in small concentration
High percentage of clay is predominantly montmorillonite in
structure
BC soil forms a very poor foundation material for road construction
CBR values of BC soils are found in the range of 1-2%
Due to very low CBR values of BC soil, excessive crust thickness is
required for road pavements
The engineering properties of BC soil (Table 1):

Table 1: Physical Properties of BC Soil

Problems of Highway
Construction in BC Soil Areas
It is a well known fact that water is the worst enemy of
road pavement, particularly in expansive soil areas
Water penetrates into the road pavement from three
sides i.e. Top surface, side berms and from subgrade
due to capillary action
Steps must be taken that road surface must be
impervious, side berms paved and subgrade well
treated to check capillary rise of water.
Fig.2 shows development of alligator cracks in
Bituminous pavements in BC Soil areas

Fig. 2: Alligator Cracks in Bituminous

Pavements in BC Soil Areas

Highway Design Problems in BC Soils

BC soils produce swelling pressure in the range of
20-80 tons/m and swelling in the range of 10-20%
CBR value of the BC soil be improved by giving a
suitable treatment with appropriate technology, and
this will substantially reduce the crust thickness

Ground Improvement Technologies for

Improving CBR of BC Soils
The materials for BC soil stabilisation comprise lime
or Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) 43 grade,
moorum of approved quality, sand and Cohesive
Non-swelling Soil (CNS)
Cement or hydrated lime in the range of 3-5% brings
remarkable improvement in the engineering
characteristics of BC soils
Use of Geotextiles / Geofabrics / Geogrids
Table 2 indicates the improvement in the BC soil
characteristics

Table 2: Improvement in BC Soil

Characteristics with Lime Cement

Use of Geo-textiles / Geo-grids / Geo-fabrics

for Ground Improvement
This technique has tremendous potential for its application in
BC soil areas
Geotextile layer acts as a reinforcing layer and is used to
combat reflective cracking in the pavement structure
Also thickness reduction of pavement from 10 to 25%
The cost of Geotextiles is the stumbling factor for its wider
application in India
However, in special areas, such as BC soil areas, Geo-textiles
offer a viable solution to highway engineering problems
(Fig. 3, 4 and 5 use of Geo-textiles)

Fig. 3: Geogrids from New Polymers

Fig. 4: Asphalt Reinforcement with Geo-Textiles

Fig. 5: Asphalt Reinforcement with Geo-Textiles

Case-Histories of Highway
Construction in BC Soil Areas
Four Laning of National Highway-4 (NH-4) passing through BC
Soil Areas
NH-4 is one of the four arms of National Highway Network
popularly known as Golden Quadrilateral having length of
about 6000 km as a component of National Highway
Development Project (NHDP)
Widening of the existing 2-lane stretch passing through BC Soil
area from Satara (km 725.00) to Maharashtra State Border
Section of NH-4 (km 592.240) to 4-lane divided carriageway
and strengthening of the existing 2-lane section on BOT basis
Construction of Bombay-Pune Expressway passing through BC
Soil Area from Pune end (Section D)

Construction of New 2 - lane Cement Concrete

Pavement (Rigid Pavement) Carriageway (NH-4)
The BC soil deposits existing on the road alignment were carefully
replaced with CNS soil having PI value ranging between 5 to 15 and
Swelling Index (SI) ranging between 7 to 35 in the entire length of the
new carriageway
Since the good quality CNS soil (Moorum) was readily available in
abundance from the nearby moorum quarries along the existing
carriageway, hence no BC soil stabilisation was required
Fig. 6 and 7 show compaction of CNS soil (moorum) for the new
2-lane carriageway
Fig.8 shows compaction of Dry Lean Concrete (DLC) as sub-base layer
under construction
Fig.9 shows pavement Quality concrete (PQC) layer under construction
Fig.10 A view of six lane divided Bombay-Pune Expressway

Fig.6: Compaction of CNS Soil (moorum) in

Embankment Construction for New 2-Lane Carriageway
(NH-4)

Fig. 7: Compaction of CNS Soil (moorum) in Subgrade

Construction for New 2-Lane Carriageway (NH-4)

Fig. 8: Dry Lean Concrete (DLC)

on NH-4 (Kolhapur-Satara Section)

Fig. 9: Pavement Quality Concrete (PQC)

on NH-4 (Kagal-Satara Section)

Fig. 10: Mumbai-Pune Expressway

under Traffic Operation

Methodology of Embankment Construction

Case I (in Cutting) (NH-4)
Where the stretches of highway embankment are in
cutting on BC Soil (Fig. 11) and are below NGL:

Case I (In Cutting)

Fig. 11: Highway Embankment on BC Soil

in Cutting below NGL (NH-4)

Case II (in Filling)

Where the stretches of highway embankment are in
filling on BC soil (Fig. 12) and are above NGL:

Case II (In Filling)

Fig. 12: Highway Embankment

on BC Soil in Filling below NGL (NH-4)

Conclusions
There is a strong need for ground improvement in the
engineering characteristics of BC soil for roads and Highway
Construction
Use of Lime / Cement Soil stabilisation technology has a
great potential in BC soil areas
Use of CNS (moorum) layer as a barrier between subgrade
and subbase layer has been in practice in view of its costeffectiveness
Use of 225 mm thick sand filter layer on soft soils as a barrier
to stop intrusion of subgrade soil in the granular sub-base layer
(GSB) as a drainage layer

Contd..

Conclusions (Contd.)
Incorporation of geotextile fabrics between subgrade and subbase layer is an emerging technology. It not only stops seepage
of water but also brings reduction in the road crust thickness
Dense bituminous surfacings are essential to stop the ingress of
water from top surfacing
Roadside berms require pucca (paved) treatment
A layer of 1 meter (1000 mm) thick CNS compacted (moorum)
should be provided over the sand layer (filter)
The compacted CNS soil of size 3 meters (3000 mm) in width
and 2 meters (2000 mm) in depth should be provided at the
edges of the compacted sub-layers to prevent the entry of
ground water to the sub-layers

Thank you