Field performance of coir geotextile reinforced flexible pavements

Coir geotextile is a natural geotextile manufactured from coir fibres which are abundantly available in south India. Construction of pavements strengthened with coir geotextiles makes the construction cost effective and ecofriendly. In this paper the performance study conducted on three stretches of fl exible pavements constructed on soft soil, reinforced with coir geotextiles are reported. Geotextile had been placed as a reinforcement layer at the interface of subgrade and granular base. The roads were constructed in 2011 and opened to traffic since then. The structural and functional performance of coir geotextile reinforced pavements are evaluated by conducting Benkelman beam defl ection test, Dynamic cone penetrometer test and Visual evaluation. A comparison of the behaviour made between the reinforced and unreinforced roads are also presented.