Performance of Road Embankments on Seasonally-Frozen Peat Foundations with and without Corduroy Bases

Abstract

Two test sections along a newly constructed road embankment on peat foundations were instrumented to investigate their performance and to develop more economical means of construction method. The peat deposit in the study area has an average thickness of 4 m. One test section is an embankment with geotextile only at its base, and the other is with geotextile and timber logs (corduroy). Settlements were measured using monitoring plates and pins. Ground temperatures were measured using thermistor strings. Pore water pressures were measured using vibrating wire piezometers. This paper presents the monitoring results of the two fully-instrumented sections. Results show that adding timber logs near the toe of the slope reduced the settlement of the peat foundation and therefore reducing the requirement for fill material to maintain road elevation.