Expansive soils are soils that significantly change in volume due to variations in moisture content; they swell when wet and shrink when dry. The presence of expansive soils beneath a pavement structure creates several challenges that influence maintenance and rehabilitation decisions. The repeated swelling and shrinking of the soil can cause the pavement to heave, crack, and distort, leading to premature failure. This movement is not uniform, creating differential heaving which is particularly damaging. Therefore, traditional maintenance techniques like patching and overlays may provide only temporary relief because the underlying soi....
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