Automated road roughness measurements on unpaved road and their use in maintenance management in Tanzania

The current forecast World socio-economic condition indicates that the maintenance of existing road infrastructure be given high priority in allocation of public funding. If development is to continue, efficient use must be made of the limited funding available for road maintenance. There is neither a proper standard specification for unpaved road maintenance technique in Tanzania nor a well-defined reliable m method ology for obtaining u paved road surface information. The main objective of this research is therefore to investigate the usefulness of the Bum p Integrator (BI) or related response type roughness measuring equipment, as a tool for producing a database for unpaved road surface condition for maintenance management in Tanzania. The study includes literature review on unpaved road; design, material specifications and maintenance techniques adopted. Field and survey data collection included roughness, rut depth, gravel loss, traffic volume and meteorological data. The field data collected was analyzed to obtain deterioration trend at that particular road section for a particular type of material used.