James N. Mwitari

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology

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James Wambua Kaluli

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology

Charles Kabubo

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology

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Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology

McGill University

Technology Centre

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Causes of Surface Cracking in Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement: Case study of Kagere Munyange-Njigari-Gituiga Road in Kenya

James N. Mwitari James Wambua Kaluli Charles Kabubo

Concrete pavements are expected to have a long structural life. The present study considered a jointed plain concretepavement (JPCP) road in Kenya that developed surface cracks within the first 2 years of construction. With a CBR of 10-17%, thesubgrade layer was ruled out as a possible cause of cracking. However, the subbase layer did not meet the minimum CBR value,and 24% of the pavement did not attain the recommended minimum layer modulus value of 345 MPa for neat gravel construction.Furthermore, the concrete strength was below the design strength of 30 KN/mm 2 . None of the saw-cut joints met the recommendeddepth and only 5% of the slabs met the design slab thickness. Inadequate slab thickness, inadequate depth of cut joints, andinadequate strength of subbase layer could have been responsible for the development of surface cracks. These shortcomingsshould be interrogated further to establish the true combination of factors that were responsible for the cracking of the JPCPFurthermore, there is need for a deliberate effort to assess the capacity and competencies of the construction industry in Kenya tohandle new technologies in road construction.

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