RE-INTRODUCTION OF RUBBLE AS A BASE COURSE MATERIAL & ITS APPROPRIATENESS

FOR THE RURAL ROAD CONSTRUCTION ( PROGRAMME), IN PARTICULAR

By: Eng. S.D.S. Deshapriya -RDA
ABC is a widely used road material for the construction of road bases. It has become more
popular due to its easiness for handling. However it shows that comparatively large stones
such as rubble (9) can be used very effectively for the
construction of road bases.
Accordingly the rubble is proposed here for constructing the road bases together with ABC
only as the filling material for covering the interstitial voids there in.
In the technical aspect, it gives more bearing capacity than ABC material.
Since it is big in particle size, more area involves, hence it can withstand more load & transfer
more load to the ground with less settlement. As a result of this, rubble layer characterizes
higher B.C. value.
Since rubble is big in particle size, more energy can be absorbed before crushing. Hence it is
a big advantage to achieve stronger bases by using rubble than ABC material.
Other point is the less cost involved. It is cheaper material than ABC & mainly due to this
reason the construction cost is reduced remarkably. Hence the rubble bases will be very
attractive for constructing roads. Stronger base at a lesser cost is the main significance there
in.
Even though, rubble has been used in traditional Mecadom construction earlier, It is stressed
here that this proposal is different to it, due to involving well graded aggregate in place of
uniformly graded aggregates which used in Mecadom construction. Hence the failures which
had experienced in traditional method due to unfilled voids, lack of compaction ,lack of
compatibility & consistency in particle size etc. is avoided here by introduction of well graded
ABC (GABC).
After facing problems as above, with Macadam construction, authorities have changed straight
away to the present (well graded) ABC method. In the circumstances. This proposal lies, in midway between traditional Macadum method & present( well graded)ABC laying operation in
order to economize the construction work. Accordingly the ample savings which involved in
this method can be imagined merely by assuming that the present (well graded) ABC layer is
replaced as much as by rubbles (9) which is cheaper in the market.
In the light of the government rapid rural road improvement programme, benefit of the above
proposal will be much highlighted. Base strengthening has also been seen incorporated there
in as a measure of strengthening & upgrading rural roads. In the process of above road
programme, financial difficulties which face by the government could be reduced considerably
by introducing rubble laying in place of (well) graded ABC to the rural roads. In addition to this
rubble laying which followed by a cheaper surfacing on top will further reduce the cost. Finally,
being able to construct a more road length at a lesser cost, will be the main point of attraction.
It will be a direct benefit to the villagers & rural folk to have a good road network. Length of
road section which has to be cut off now due to the limited funding could be avoided
completely by this method & many villages in remote areas could be able to link within the
available budget. It will be a big boost to their lively hood as far as the rural falk is concerned.
In addition to the above effect, some more advantages are also involved in this proposal, in
the public point of view. One is that it will give an opportunity to have a very intensive public
participation from the village level.

In a situation where the quality rock is not available in the village ABC material will have to be
transported at a higher cost. Instead of it nearby rock in the village could be used for supplying
Rubble, since it requires only less quality parameters compared to GABC. This will be further
justified due to the less traffic volume& less speed in general which experienced in rural roads,
compared to the national roads. Responding to this situation, many available rocks could be
used for this rural roads uplifting programme very effectively. It can be organized as a village
centered labor intensive programme to supply rubble from the village itself.
Since the main role is played by the Rubble here, filling material will not be much important as
far as the quality is concerned. Hence it is an added advantage that the quality of the filling
also can be varied through a large range without affecting to the final quality of base layer.
Accordingly the various filling materials of which available in the village can further be
considered, including insitu soil gravel, weathered rock peaces etc. under the technical
guidance. Accordingly people will be benefited in two ways by participating to this construction
& earning the wages in addition to processing a good road to their village.
In addition to the wide public participation, being able to use the available machine fleet for
this operation is the encouraging factor there in.
Base Construction can be started by laying rubble on the existing road or compacted sub grade.
In order to assure the uniform laying, simple control bar can be fixed to the dump truck. It will
be followed by a Front end bucketed truck so that the ABC can be laid on rubble layer to
cover all undulations & to make the surface smooth enough to travel along. Finally the
compaction is achieved by using the vibratory rollers while adding any extra ABC material as
required for a smooth finish. Due to the effect of vibration, will push rubble to the final stable
position & orientation which surrounded by the well compacted ABC particles. Suitability to
village conditions is another point as considered when using rubble.
Most of the village roads are not wide enough, hence subjected to erosions & most roads pass
through paddy fields which goes under water frequently. In such a situation, compared to ABC,
rubble stands well ahead by withstanding against erosion, inundation & wash away. Especially
the road built on rubble base since it provides a having foundation, will be passable even after
subjecting to a flood till it repairs whereas the no signs of road remains after a flood which
built on ABC base. In such a situation road with ABC base will be a complete reconstruction
using heavy budget but the remaining strong rubble base after the flood needs only an overlay
on it. Accordingly the less secondary cost is very significant in rubble base as far as the life
cycle cost is concerned. Hence many of public grievances for restoring the roads after floods &
delaying repair work due to lack of funds can be minimized & be attended at a low budget.
Easier to handle during rainy season is another factor towards positive direction.. Mostly the
prepared sub base surface become muddy during the rainy period & laying & compaction of
ABC on it will not be practical. If the work is also urgent, in such a situation construction using
Rubble would be easy due to the fact that bigger stones will not be buried (embedded
completely) into mud fully , hence the construction can be continued smoothly. Further the
rubble which embedded so, will cause to improve the sub-grade condition as well against
settlements in sub grade. (There in the rubble will act as a strengthening measure to the
underneath weak soil.) This has to be considered in a situation of a high bearing capacity (BC)
which processed generally by the rubble base resulting to impose more resistance against
settlement.
Hence the cumulative effect of above two will work successfully against settlement.
Hence rubble base will well answer to the settlements which occur frequently in road sections
nearby paddy fields in rural roads. With the less maintenance budget also will be able to survive

the roads in passable condition for years of which built on rubble base. This will cause the
Rubble laying to promote, as to be the lasting solution in general, for the settlements of which
observed along roads.
However the benefit of using rubble bases is not limited to the rural roads. It can be widely
used for National roads as well. Ultimately, country will be processing a very strong rubble
base (foundation) all over at a lesser capital cost to receive any overlay in future. When the
base is strong, it is a secondary decision to be taken for the overlay, either for DBST, AC etc. It
will avoid future settlements & the need for reconstructions from the bottom.
Theoretically a rubble base course needs less compaction since it transfer loads mainly by
means of interlocking. Other factor which attributed for less compaction is only the filling
material of ABC requires compaction whereas Rubble denies. Hence it would be very effective
in areas where the compaction is difficult to achieve.
Since it will withstand against washing away & erosion, even during construction stage exposed
ruble layer will withstand against any such adverse situation. Further the rubble bases has
shown long lasting & satisfactory performance in hilly terrains than with ABC material. Hence
recommended for these areas.
As far as the large volume which acquired by the rubble (being the main constituent) is
concerned, energy required for crushing to ABC particles & compacting again into dense form
as in the present practice is completely eliminated due to the intervention of these stones
here . Hence with energy saving point of view, use of rubble as an alternative method is an
environmental friendly solution.
When more thickness is required depending on the site conditions, then rubble would be more
economical & stronger due to the load distribution improves significantly.
Instead of 9 rubble, even when the road is constructed using material billow 9 size (say 46) also `will increase B.C. due to the particle size is still larger than ABC. Hence particle size 46 etc. also can be applied very effectively. In such a situation, even the layer thickness lesser
than 200mm. also can be applied for satisfactory performance of base course so that the
improved B.C. will compensate for lesser layer thicknesses.

As stated earlier, it is an added advantage to relax the quality of filling material in presence of
rubble. Accordingly, when using rubble, filling material can be varied through a large range
without affecting to the final quality of base course. Reintroduction of rubble as a base course
material is the main concern in this article. However in addition to this, filling materials are
also to be searched for in a large range here as an extension to the above exercise. Accordingly
various filling materials are proposed here including insitu soil, gravel, Contaminated ABC, ABC
mixed soil or with excessive fines weathered rock salty clay etc. For further researching.
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