Explain various Problems associated with planning of low volume rural

roads in India.
Planning low volume rural roads in India presents several challenges due to
the diverse geographic, social, and economic conditions prevalent in rural
areas.
1. Geography: Rural areas in India have diverse landscapes, from mountains
to plains, making road construction challenging.
2. Limited Funds: Rural areas often lack the money needed to build and
maintain good roads.
3. Community Needs: Rural communities have different needs and opinions,
making it hard to plan roads that satisfy everyone.
4. Accessibility: Some rural areas are hard to reach, making it difficult to
transport materials and build roads.
5. Environmental Impact: Road construction can harm the environment by
causing deforestation and soil erosion.
6. Weather Vulnerability: Roads need to withstand extreme weather like
floods and storms.
7. Maintenance Issues: Many rural roads aren't well-maintained due to
limited resources.
8. Land Acquisition: Getting land for roads can be complicated due to
ownership disputes and legal issues
Explain the concept of Network Planning in Rural Roads
Network planning in rural roads involves designing a cohesive and efficient
transportation system that connects various rural areas to urban centers, markets,
healthcare facilities, and other essential services.
1. Integration: It's about connecting different rural areas together and linking them
to urban centers. This integration helps in improving access to markets, schools,
healthcare, and other services.
2. Optimization: Network planning aims to optimize the layout of roads to minimize
travel time and distance. This includes identifying the most efficient routes and
determining where new roads are needed.
3. Prioritization: It involves prioritizing which roads to build or upgrade based on
factors such as population density, economic activity, agricultural potential, and
social needs. This ensures that limited resources are allocated to areas that will
benefit the most.
4. Multi-modal Connectivity: Network planning also considers integrating different
modes of transportation, such as roads, railways, waterways, and air transport, to
provide connectivity and improve accessibility.
5. Sustainability: Planning rural road networks with sustainability in mind involves
considering environmental impacts, such as minimizing deforestation and soil
erosion, as well as promoting eco-friendly construction practices and using
renewable materials.
6. Community Engagement: Engaging with local communities.
7. Technology Integration: Utilizing modern technologies such as Geographic
Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing, and computer-aided design (CAD),
analysis, and visualization, facilitating more informed decision-making in network
planning.
Overall, network planning in rural roads is about creating a well-connected and
sustainable transportation system that enhances mobility, facilitates economic
development, and improves the quality of life for rural residents.
Explain Recent developments on rural roads in India.
Recent developments in rural roads in India have focused on improving connectivity,
accessibility, and infrastructure quality in rural areas. Here are some key developments:
1. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY): This flagship program aims to
provide all-weather road connectivity to rural areas. Significant investments have
been made to upgrade and construct rural roads under this scheme, enhancing
connectivity to remote villages.
2. Rural Road Construction: The government has accelerated the construction of
rural roads, including both new roads and the upgradation of existing ones. This
effort aims to improve accessibility to essential services like healthcare, education,
and markets.
3. Innovative Technologies: There has been an increased focus on using innovative
technologies such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing, and
drones for surveying, planning, and monitoring rural road projects. These
technologies help improve efficiency and accuracy in project implementation.
4. Community Participation: Efforts have been made to involve local communities
in the planning and execution of rural road projects. Community participation
ensures that roads are built according to local needs and preferences, enhancing
their effectiveness and sustainability.
5. Green Initiatives: There is a growing emphasis on incorporating eco-friendly
practices in rural road construction, such as using sustainable materials,
implementing green drainage systems, and minimizing environmental impact.
6. Digital Solutions: Digital platforms and applications are monitoring and
managing rural road projects. These tools facilitate real-time tracking of project
progress, quality control, and resource allocation, leading to more transparent and
accountable project implementation.
7. Infrastructure Development: Alongside road construction, efforts have been
made to improve associated infrastructure such as bridges, and roadside amenities.
Enhancing infrastructure quality ensures the safety and durability of rural roads,
especially during adverse weather conditions.
8. Public-Private Partnerships (PPP): The government has explored PPP models
for rural road development to private sector expertise and resources.
These recent developments demonstrate a concerted effort by the Indian government to
enhance rural road infrastructure, promote economic growth, and improve the quality of
life for rural residents.
Explain location surveys for rural roads.
# Surveys for Highway
Before a highway alignment is finalised in highway project, the engineering survey
are to be carried out.
1) Map study
• From the map alternative routes can be suggested in the office, if the topographic
map of that area is available.
• The probable alignment can be located on the map from the fallowing details
available on the map.
- Avoiding valleys, ponds or lake
- Avoiding bend of river
• Map study gives a rough guidance of the routes to be further surveyed in the field
2) Reconnaissance survey
• To confirm features indicated on map.
• To examine the general character of the area in field for deciding the most feasible
routes for detailed studies.
• Details to be collected from alternative routes from this survey are,
o Valleys, ponds, lakes, hill, permanent structure and other obstruction.
o Value of gradient, length of gradient and radius of curve.
o Number and type of cross drainage structures.
o High Flood Level (HFL)
o Soil Characteristics.
o Geological features.
• Prepare a report on merits and demerits of different alternative routes.
3) Preliminary survey
• To survey the various alternative alignments proposed after the reconnaissance and to
collect all the necessary physical information and detail of topography, drainage and
soil.
- To compare the different proposals in view of the requirements of the good
alignment.
- To estimate quantity of earthwork materials and other construction aspect and
to work out the cost of the alternate proposals.
4) Final location and detailed surveys
• The alignment finalised at the design office after the preliminary survey is to be
first located on the field by establishing the centre line.
Explain special considerations for rural roads in hilly terrain.
1. A hill road may be defined as the one which passes through a terrain with a cross
slope of 25% or more.
2. The roads constructed in mountainous regions of a country are known as hill roads or
ghat roads.
3. These roads present great difficulty in their alignment, design, construction and
maintenance.
4. Hence, a strong stable and feasible road must be present in hilly areas for overall
development of other sectors as well.
Special Consideration for Hilly Roads
1. Alignment of Road
2. Most of the length should be in ruling gradient
3. Deep Cutting is avoided
4. Tunnels should be avoided
5. Grid based Technology should be adopted for 4 lane highways
Grid Based Technology
1. Reduce Landslides
2. Increase in Cost
3. Require more area
Problems in Hilly Roads
1. Landslide
2. Drainage
3. Soil Erosion
4. Ineffective Rise and Fall
5. Sight distance
6. Snow Clearance
# Low Embankment:
• Purpose: Low embankments are constructed to raise the roadbed above the
surrounding terrain slightly.
Soil investigations aim to ensure that the soil used for embankment construction is
stable and capable of bearing the load.
• Criteria: The soil should have adequate bearing capacity and stability to support
the embankment load without excessive settlement or deformation.
It should also be sufficiently compactable to achieve the desired embankment
height and slope stability.
High Embankment:
• Purpose: High embankments are constructed to elevate the roadbed significantly
above the surrounding terrain.
Soil investigations are critical to ensuring the stability and safety of these tall
structures.
• Criteria: The soil used for high embankments should possess high bearing
capacity, shear strength, and compressibility resistance to support the
embankment's weight and withstand external forces like wind and seismic loads.
Special attention is paid to slope stability and potential erosion risks.
Subgrade:
• Purpose: The subgrade is the natural or prepared soil surface on which the
pavement structure is constructed. Soil investigations for the subgrade aim to
ensure that it provides adequate support and drainage for the pavement layers.
Explain Construction of Earth (Subgrade &Embankment), Sub-base, Base course
and surface course.
Discuss the function of each part: -
a) Subgrade
b) Sub Base
c) Base Course
d) Wearing Course
A) SUBGRADE: It is finished & compacted surface of earthwork on which a road pavement rests.
FUNCTIONS:
1. To bear ultimately the entire load of pavement including the load of traffic transmitted through the
pavement.
2. To provide an adequate & uniform support to the road pavement.
B) SUB-BASE: It is a layer of granular material provided in between the subgrade & base course in
road pavement. It consists cheaper material like burnt clinker & natural gravel.
FUNCTIONS:
1. To improve the bearing capacity of the subgrade.
2. To improve drainage & to check capillary rise of a sub soil water.
3. To eliminate frost heave in frost affected area.
4. To prevent subgrade material from working up into the base course.
C) BASE COURSE: It is a layer of boulders or bricks in single or double layers provided over the
sub base or immediately over the subgrade in the absence
of sub base in a road pavement.
FUNCTIONS:
1. To withstand high shearing stresses imposed upon it due to impact of traffic on wearing course.
2. To act as foundation for road pavement & to transfer the wheel loads coming over the pavement to
the sub base & subgrade lying underneath.
D) WEARING COURSE: It is the top most layer of road pavement directly exposed to traffic.
FUNCTIONS:
1. To distribute the traffic load safely to the base course.
2. To act as an impervious layer so that the surface water may find its access to base course.
3. To prevent dust nuisance.
4. To withstand abrasion caused due to movement of traffic.
5. To provide a smooth riding surface
Explain Construction of fly ash embankments
1. Fly ash can provide an economical and environmentally preferable alternative to
natural borrow soil.
2. Many favourable properties for embankment construction are Light weight, higher
shear strength (greater stability), no lumps, usually moist, cost savings, etc
3. Even though fly ash can be compacted using either vibratory or static rollers,
vibratory rollers are recommended for achieving better compaction.
4. Compaction is usually carried out at optimum moisture content or slightly higher.
5. The slopes of the embankments should be protected by providing good earth cover
using loamy soil.
6. The design of fly ash embankments is basically similar to design of soil
embankments.
7. The compacted thickness of intermediate soil layers may vary from 0.2 to 0.4 m.
8. Geo synthetic materials like geo grids or geo textiles can be used as reinforcement
for construction of reinforced fly ash embankments.