Case Study: Road Project in Reasi, Jammu & Kashmir – Enhancing Durability with Ocean Geotextile-150 Gsm

For a road project in Reasi, Jammu & Kashmir, Ocean Non Wovens supplied 6000 Sqm of Ocean Geotextile-150 Gsm, a non-woven fabric laid between the subgrade and the aggregate base. This case study covers the site conditions in Reasi, what the geotextile does in the road, and what to get right during installation.

Road construction challenges in Reasi

Reasi district lies in the hills of the Jammu region, along the Chenab. Roads there cross steep slopes, so rainwater runs across and under the pavement, washes soil off slopes, and leaves pockets of saturated ground. On such ground, aggregate laid directly on the subgrade mixes into soft soil, drainage suffers, and the road starts to rut, crack and settle within a few seasons.

Geosynthetics such as geotextiles help by keeping the pavement layers separate, filtering water out of the subgrade and protecting soil from erosion.

What Ocean Geotextile-150 Gsm did on the project

1. Separation and soil stabilisation

The geotextile was placed as a separation layer between the subgrade and the aggregate base. Without it, traffic loads push stone into the soft soil and pump fines up into the stone, and the base loses thickness and strength. With the fabric in place, the foundation layer stays intact under traffic and wet weather. See Ocean’s soil stabilization solutions for pavements.

2. Erosion control

On hill roads, runoff washes soil out from road edges and slopes. Where the fabric sits beneath aggregate or stone, it holds the soil in place while letting water pass through.

3. Drainage

Water from rain, groundwater and surface runoff weakens a subgrade if it is trapped under the road. The fabric is permeable both across its plane and, to a lesser extent, along it, so water can leave the subgrade and drain away from the road foundation.

4. Load distribution

A light non-woven geotextile is not a reinforcement layer. Its contribution to load spreading is indirect: by keeping the aggregate base clean and at full thickness, it lets the base spread wheel loads over a wider area of subgrade, which reduces deformation and rutting.

Choosing a geotextile grade for a road

Grade selection comes down to survivability and hydraulics. A 150 GSM fabric is a light separation grade, suitable where the subgrade is reasonably firm, the aggregate is not very angular and construction traffic over the fabric is limited. Softer subgrades, larger angular stone or heavier construction equipment call for heavier fabrics with higher puncture and tear resistance. Its opening size (ASTM D4751) must also suit the subgrade soil so fines are retained without the fabric clogging. In India, IRC:SP:59 and MoRTH Section 700 set out the geotextile properties required for road separation and drainage layers.

Installation

• Trim and compact the subgrade and remove sharp stones and roots.
• Unroll the fabric in the direction of traffic, overlapping adjacent rolls (wider overlaps on softer ground).
• Keep vehicles off uncovered fabric, and place aggregate by end-tipping and spreading forward rather than driving on the fabric.
• Cover the fabric promptly to limit UV exposure.

Ocean Non Wovens provides technical support during installation, because a good geotextile underperforms if it is torn, poorly overlapped or left exposed.

Why it matters for road life

A road whose base stays clean and drained needs fewer repairs, and it uses less aggregate over its life because the base does not have to be rebuilt as often. That means lower maintenance costs and less material and transport over the life of the road.

About Ocean Non Wovens

Ocean Non Wovens manufactures and supplies geosynthetics for road and infrastructure projects in difficult terrain. To discuss Ocean Geotextile-150 Gsm or other grades for a road project, contact the team or browse more case studies.