--- title: "Maintenance importance; bituminous pavement maintenance" subject: "Transportation Engineering II" chapter: 4 key: "semester_7/transportation_engineering_ii:importance-maintenance-bituminous-pavement" source: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_7/transportation_engineering_ii/importance-maintenance-bituminous-pavement site: BCT Engineering --- # Maintenance importance; bituminous pavement maintenance Transportation Engineering II · Chapter 4: Highway Maintenance, Repair, and Rehabilitation - Asked in: 2068 Baisakh, 2+6 marks - Video: [Highway Maintenance: Pavement distresses and causes.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePGIjfjdjgw) — RAGHUVEER KOMBADE - Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) on 2026-10-14 - Page: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_7/transportation_engineering_ii/importance-maintenance-bituminous-pavement - Whole chapter: https://www.bctengineer.com/md/semester_7/transportation_engineering_ii/chapter-4 ## Question Explain the importance of road maintenance. Describe the maintenance of bituminous pavement. ## Short answer Timely road maintenance protects investment, reduces vehicle costs, and ensures safety and year‑round access. Bituminous pavement maintenance involves pothole patching, crack sealing, surface dressing, treating bleeding and ravelling, and keeping drainage clear. ## Answer #### Importance of road maintenance 1. **Protects the investment** - roads are costly assets, and timely maintenance prevents rapid deterioration. A small amount spent early saves a large reconstruction cost later. 2. **Lower vehicle operating cost** - smooth roads reduce fuel, tyre, repair and travel-time costs. 3. **Safety** - a good surface, drainage, markings and signs reduce accidents. 4. **Continuous access** - keeps the road open all year (especially during the monsoon in Nepal) for people, goods and emergency services, and supports economic and social development. 5. **Longer life** - the pavement serves its full design life. 6. **Environmental and comfort benefits** - less dust and noise; good drainage reduces erosion and flooding. #### Maintenance of bituminous pavement Maintenance of a bituminous surface (IRC:82 and the Nepal DoR maintenance manuals) depends on the defect: | Defect | Maintenance treatment | |---|---| | Potholes | Mark a square or rectangular patch, cut vertical sides down to a sound base, remove debris, apply a tack coat, fill with hot or cold premix, and compact (roller or hand rammer) leaving it 5-6 mm above the surface | | Cracks (hairline/fine) | Seal with bitumen emulsion or slurry seal; for wider cracks, clean and fill with bitumen and sand or a crack sealant | | Fatigue (alligator) cracking | Remove and replace the failed area including the base; overlay | | Ravelling / loss of aggregates | Surface dressing or seal coat; fog seal for light cases | | Bleeding / fatting up | Spread hot coarse sand or fine stone chips (about 6 mm) and roll; or remove the excess binder | | Corrugation, shoving, rutting | Scarify, add or remove material and recompact; level with a bituminous levelling course and overlay | | Edge breaking | Repair shoulders, widen the pavement or re-gravel; improve drainage | | Depressions | Fill with a premix levelling course | | Worn surface | Premix carpet, surface dressing, slurry seal or thin overlay (periodic maintenance) | Maintaining drainage (cleaning side drains and culverts) and shoulders is essential, because water is the main cause of failure. ## Check yourself The answer's key points as multiple-choice questions, with the correct option and why. 1. Why does timely maintenance protect the investment? A. It increases traffic B. A small early spend avoids large reconstruction cost later C. It lets the design life be reduced D. It removes the need for drainage Answer: B. Timely maintenance prevents rapid deterioration, saving large reconstruction costs. (Key point: Protects investment) 2. In pothole repair, what is done after cutting vertical sides and removing debris? A. Fill directly with water B. Apply tack coat, fill with premix and compact C. Apply fog seal only D. Leave for traffic to compact Answer: B. Tack coat, premix filling and compaction (5-6 mm above surface) complete the patch. (Key point: Pothole repair) 3. How is bleeding (fatting up) treated? A. Spread hot coarse sand or 6.6 mm chips and roll B. Fog seal C. Premix carpet over wet surface D. Fill with levelling course Answer: A. Coarse sand or chips absorb excess binder; or the excess is removed. (Key point: Bleeding treatment) 4. Why are drainage and shoulder maintenance essential for bituminous roads? A. Water is the main cause of pavement failure B. They improve skid resistance C. They reduce bitumen cost D. They remove need for patching Answer: A. Water is the main cause of failure, so drains and culverts must be kept clean. (Key point: Water as cause) ## Related in Transportation Engineering II - [Bituminous maintenance and rigid pavement failures](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftransportation_engineering_ii%3Abituminous-maintenance-rigid-failures) — Transportation Engineering II, chapter 4, asked 2× - [Maintenance of bituminous roads](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftransportation_engineering_ii%3Abituminous-pavement-maintenance) — Transportation Engineering II, chapter 4 - [Bituminous pavement types and quality control](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftransportation_engineering_ii%3Atypes-bituminous-pavement-quality-control) — Transportation Engineering II, chapter 3 - [Bituminous pavement types; asphalt concrete construction](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftransportation_engineering_ii%3Atypes-bituminous-pavement-ac-construction) — Transportation Engineering II, chapter 3 - [Highway maintenance and causes of pavement failure](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftransportation_engineering_ii%3Amaintenance-flexible-failures) — Transportation Engineering II, chapter 4, asked 2× - [Pavement maintenance and its types](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftransportation_engineering_ii%3Apavement-maintenance-types-examples) — Transportation Engineering II, chapter 4 ## Related in other subjects - [Tests on bituminous binders](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_6%2Ftransportation_engineering_i%3Abitumen-tests-list) — Transportation Engineering I, chapter 6, asked 8× - [Types of bitumen and bituminous materials](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_6%2Ftransportation_engineering_i%3Abitumen-types) — Transportation Engineering I, chapter 6, asked 6×