Development of a heavy duty granular basecourse for Moree By Pass

A spray sealed granular pavement is the lowest cost pavement configuration available for Australia's extensive rural road network. However, the capacity of a granular pavement to support high volumes of heavily laden commercial vehicles is not unlimited. Granular pavements are now at their limit in terms of their capacity to provide a long term serviceable pavement structure on the major rural highways. This paper discusses the development of a heavy duty granular pavement configuration for a section of the Newell Highway that is now under construction. The Moree By-pass provides a new route for commercial traffic around the township of Moree. The Newell Hwy is arguably N.S.W.'s most heavily trafficked highway constructed from granular materials,. The project offers the opportunity to pilot a heavy duty granular pavement design by working with a local basalt quarry to improve the specification and performance of their basecourse product. It also offers the opportunity to implement tighter construction tolerances in order to deliver the highest standard granular pavement that can be achieved. The benefits of these developments will extend to future rehabilitation works on the Newell Highway and other rural highways. The technology represents a lifting of materials, design and construction standards that will facilitate continued use of granular pavements in rural areas, with significant economic savings compared to the alternatives of fully bound asphalt or concrete configurations.