Construction of unpaved rural road using jute–synthetic blended woven geotextile – A case study

Jute–high density polyethylene (HDPE) blended geotextile samples produced using HDPE slit-film in the machine direction and jute yarn in the cross direction for use in the construction of unpaved rural roads. Use of HDPE slit-film resulted in high productivity of jute-based geotextiles in modern high-speed machines, while jute (≈85%) in cross direction resulted in notable increase in modulus, breaking strength, CBR puncture resistance of the blended geotextile as compared to 100% HDPE geotextile. The optimized geotextile (plain-weave fabric with 111 tex HDPE in machine direction, 2 × 360 tex jute yarn in cross direction having area density, 316 g/m2) was used in a field trial. During road construction, the geotextile was covered with a layer of 10 cm thick laterite gravels as the sub-grade, compacted by rolling, and then finally covered with 10 cm small granular lateritic stones, and rolled again. The field trial showed that the monitored section where geotextile was used showed an even surface without any notable subsidence or rutting after 18 months. However in sections of the road constructed without the geotextile, 5–35 mm deep ruts were observed. CBR tests (carried out 11 months and 18 months after construction) showed a 67–73% improvement in the road due to the use of jute–HDPE blended geotextile than that obtained for the part of the road where geotextiles were not used.