Correlation between design traffic and weighbridge measurements : Implications to road infrastructure performance

Abstract

Road infrastructure is one of the basic facilities needed for the growth and advancement of any modern economy. The growth of every country’s economy is measured by the growth of its transport infrastructure. Most of the road networks in the developing countries of Africa are in deplorable conditions. Uganda being one of these countries is not an exception. The road network system has so failed that colossal sums of money are spent every financial year on rehabilitation. For this reason, this research examined the devastating effects of truck overloads on the road pavement failure along national highways. This research analyses the axle loads of heavy vehicles on Malaba/Busia-Bugiri highway to find out how they influence the state of the road’s pavement condition. The expected pavement load was quantified through equivalent single axle loads (ESALs). Correlation between design traffic and weighbridge measurements: implications to roads. A combination of descriptive and analytical designs was employed to collect data. Self-Administered Questionnaires and documentary review were employed for data collection; a sample of 48 respondents was taken from a population 55 respondents using stratified, simple random sampling and purposive sampling. Analysis of the data resulted in the existence of high vehicle damage factors caused by overloaded heavy vehicles. The findings revealed that traffic loading influenced pavement life such that a 1% increase in overload reduced pavement life by 2.01%. The study recommended the need for revision of the fine charged, need for replacement of the ancient weighbridge system as well as need for bench marking other control units from other countries for best practices among others.