Innovative approaches towards the use of locally available natural marginal materials

The utilization of materials locally available on the site of a road project is a major concern in the context of sustainable development and perfectly meets the socioeconomic and environmental criteria involved in it. The report is based on the answers received from twenty-two countries. Five different families of locally available marginal natural materials have been identified. Information on placing and processing is given for each country. A comparison is also made of classifications and [...]

Vulnerability of Geotechnical Infrastructure to Climate Change and Adjustment Measures According to the Geographical Context

The report identifies foreseeable damage and the measures to be taken in a geographical context where climatology and geomorphology are aggregated. Five climate trends are covered: increase of average temperatures; decrease of average precipitation; increase of winter precipitation; increased intensity of extreme precipitation; and increased storm severity. These five trends result in thirteen induced general phenomena, to which nine types of road damage are linked. The geomorphology approach [...]

Anticipating the impact of climate change on road earthworks

Climate change and its consequences are one of the main preoccupations of the beginning of the 21 st century. The first part of the report presents, as an example, regional scenarios of the climate evolution for Quebec and Switzerland. The second part focuses on water: lack or excess of water and its state. It deals with the cases of embankments, natural slopes, rise of sea level, modifications of the permafrost, and the increase of the wind force. Various examples are presented in the third part. [...]

Indicators representative of the condition of geotechnical structures for road asset management

The management of geotechnical assets of road infrastructure is a subject that is rarely investigated. The variability and the difficulty to predict long-term performances pose a challenge for planning maintenance. The report provides an overview of the state of practice. After a description of the architecture of management systems, it provides relevant performance indicators to evaluate the condition of geotechnical assets. Examples of implementation, the results of an international survey, [...]

Promoting optimal use of local materials

This document aims to: • identify the progress made over the last decade with respect to soil and/or rock treatments in the area of road earthworks, and more specifically since the publication of PIARC's 1997 report: "Equipment and Methods Specific to Soil Treatment Work"; • look at developments in the use of local materials in building embankments, subgrade or other structures in certain countries and add to the information already provided in PIARC's reports: "Marginal Materials—State [...]