Highway Maintenance

Highway Maintenance

Highway maintenance involves the practice of preserving the operational quality of existing roads to ensure smooth traffic flow. It holds a crucial significance in extending the lifespan of highways while also contributing to decreased fuel consumption by vehicles and the prevention of tire wear and tear.

Need for Highway Maintenance

• Guaranteeing the secure and comfortable conveyance of passengers and goods, uninterrupted.
• Regular road maintenance prevents accidents resulting from deteriorated and faulty road conditions.
• Ensuring safe and seamless traffic flow necessitates consistent road upkeep.
• Extending the longevity of roads through effective maintenance practices.
• Enhancing road user safety and curbing improper traffic movement.
• Regular maintenance of road components such as pavements, drains, shoulders, and edges yields superior service to road users.

Components of Road Maintenance

Road maintenance encompasses a variety of functions, each contributing to the overall upkeep and effectiveness of roadways:

Surface Maintenance:

• Maintaining the road's surface quality and structural integrity.
• Addressing various types of pavement distress, including alligator cracking, block cracking, transverse cracking, longitudinal cracking, raveling, drip track raveling, bleeding or flushing, corrugations, potholes, and ruts.
• Employing surface treatment methods like pre-mix carpet, patching, seal coating, oiling, re-mixing, and resurfacing.

Roadside and Highway Drainage Maintenance:

• Clearing and managing roadside areas by mowing, cutting, plowing, or spraying with weed killers.
• Preventing fire hazards through controlled burning and plowing.
• Improving visibility and sight distance by trimming vegetation.
• Managing side slope erosion through mulching, seeding, and stability checks.
• Ensuring proper functioning of ditches, culverts, and drainage structures.

Shoulder and Approaches Maintenance:

Maintaining sod shoulders through occasional leveling and keeping grass in good condition.

Addressing gravel and earth shoulders to avoid drop-offs at pavement edges.

Repairing edge joints and preventing water penetration to subgrade soil.

Snow and Ice Control:

Applying abrasives like sand, cinders, and stone screenings to improve traction on icy road surfaces.

Bridges Maintenance:

• Cleaning and repainting exposed steelwork.
• Resealing deck joints and addressing damage to guardrails.
• Resurfacing rough bridge decks.
• Correcting scour around piers and abutments.

Traffic Services:

• Performing striping and sign repair, especially after adverse weather conditions.
• Effective highway maintenance requires careful attention to all these components to ensure road safety, efficiency, and user satisfaction.

Types of Road Maintenance

Periodic and Routine Repairs:

• Routine repairs involve day-to-day maintenance activities aimed at keeping road pavements in good condition. These are mainly applied to low-cost roads.
• Departmental labor usually handles routine repairs, ensuring ongoing road functionality.
• Periodic repairs, on the other hand, are conducted at specific intervals and are typically contracted out to external contractors.

Special Repairs:

• Special repairs are dedicated to addressing significant and unique road problems that require specific solutions. These repairs are vital to prevent the worsening of road conditions.
• Primarily carried out on high-class roads, special repairs demand skilled labour due to their complex nature.

Resurfacing:

• Resurfacing involves renewing the surface dressing of a pavement that has suffered severe damage. This procedure is commonly performed on bituminous roads.
• Resurfacing aims to restore the road's structural integrity and functionality, ensuring safer and smoother travel conditions.

Maintenance of Cement Concrete Roads:

The maintenance of Cement Concrete roads involves the following steps:

Blown-Ups Repairs:

• Blown-ups are raised sections at transverse joints or cracks due to longitudinal expansion of the road slab.
• Repair involves removing 150 mm depth of pavement and replacing it with concrete or bituminous material patches.

Cracks Repairs:

• Wide cracks allow water and grit to penetrate, damaging the sub-grade.
• Immediate treatment is necessary for wide cracks, involving cleaning, kerosene coating, and sealing with molten compound during summers.

Joints Repair:

• Opened joints can let surface water reach the sub-grade, affecting the road's surface.
• Routine inspection and resealing of joints, removal of weak sealing compounds, and resealing with care are essential.

Patch Repair:

• Depressions or holes on the road surface are repaired with bituminous material or concrete patches.
• Deep depressions receive concrete patches, while shallow depressions are treated with bituminous patches.

Settlement Due to Mud Pumping Repair:

• Also known as sub-grade failure, it involves slab settlement due to cavities forming beneath.
• Repair consists of filling joints and cracks through mud-jacking, involving drilling, grouting with cement mix or bitumen, and sealing.

Surface Defects Repair:

• Repair surface disintegration caused by unsound aggregates in construction.
• Clean disintegrated areas and apply surface treatment like bitumen or concrete resealing.

Factors Affecting Highway Maintenance

• Traffic Volume: Higher traffic volumes lead to increased wear and tear on roads, necessitating more frequent maintenance.
• Climate and Weather Conditions: Harsh weather conditions like heavy rain, snow, and extreme temperatures accelerate road deterioration.
• Material Quality: Poor-quality construction materials lead to quicker degradation and require more frequent repairs.
• Design and Construction: Inadequate design or construction practices can result in premature road failure, requiring extensive repairs.
• Road Geometry: Improper alignment and steep grades can cause increased stress on roads, leading to faster deterioration.
• Drainage: Inadequate drainage can lead to water accumulation, erosion, and sub-grade damage, requiring maintenance.
• Environmental Factors: Proximity to saltwater, chemicals, or vegetation can affect road surfaces and require specialised maintenance.
• Heavy Vehicles: Frequent passage of heavy trucks or vehicles can accelerate road wear and necessitate stronger maintenance efforts.
• Budget and Funding: Insufficient funds can limit the scope and frequency of maintenance activities.
• Maintenance Practices: Proper maintenance techniques and schedules affect the overall condition and longevity of roads.
• Workforce Skill: Skilled labour is required for effective maintenance, and a lack of expertise can impact maintenance quality.
• Public Awareness: Lack of awareness about road maintenance can lead to delays in reporting issues and necessary repairs.