Stabilization of Deficient Soils in Ethiopia - A Review

Abstract

In  Ethiopia  the  construction  of  road  is  increasing  from  time  to time.  Likewise, there is increasing demand of naturally occurring construction materials. Unfortunately, not all the natural materials along the vicinity of road projects are suitable for the proposed construction because these materials fail to fulfill the standard quality requirements. The best alternative in those areas, where there is scarcity of suitable construction materials, is upgrading the locally available materials so that they can be used for the proposed construction. There is an increasing effort around the world towards introducing innovative and unconventional road construction approaches that aim at reducing costs of construction by enabling use of this construction materials found with in the road route. One of proven technologies in connection to this effort is stabilization of soil. Soil stabilization is the alteration or preservation of one or more soil properties to improve the engineering characteristics and performance of a soil. This paper present the review of studies on the stabilization of deficient soils in Ethiopia.

Keywords: Expansive soil, Lateritic soil, Subbase, Subgrade, Stabilization