Geosynthetics are commonly used for unpaved roads with a low volume of traffic. Unpaved roads, consisting of unbound granular bases overlying cohesive subgrades, are usually temporary roads, rural roads and haul roads. These roads are subject to problems like excessive rutting and mud-pumping, making the road unusable for the traffic. Conventional design procedures differ for subgrade failure mode, type of load distribution and type of reinforcement support mechanism. This paper deals with the results of a parametric analysis varying soil and geosynthetic mechanical properties, allowable rut depth and traffic conditions. The main objective of the present study is to compare these different design procedures aimed at estimating the base thickness required for unpaved roads reinforced with different geosynthetics.
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