Road Note 29 (RN-29)

Road Note No. 29 was first published in 1960 to provide a

guide to the structural design of roads carrying medium and
heavy traffic.

The 1965 revision widened the scope to include lightly

trafficked roads, such as those used in housing estates.

Mr P. D. Thompson of the Road Research Laboratory, Ministry

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Flexible Pavement Design
Methods:
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by Rajesh
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the Environment introduced
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Third
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 In 1970, The Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL)

in Britain published a design manual for new pavement
construction called Road Note 29.
Design is based on CBR value.
The thickness of the subbase is related to the CBR value of
the subgrade and to the total number of standard axle loads.
The thicknesses of the other layers are related to the quality
of the materials in the pavement itself as well as to the traffic
loading by a series of curves.
The design charts and tables contained in Road Note 29 are
derived from the results of the TRRLs many full-scale road
tests under British conditions of climate, materials, traffic
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loading
etc.
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Traffic Analysis
For the purpose of structural design, the loads imposed by
private cars do not contribute significantly to the structural
damage caused to road pavements by traffic.
Therefore, only the number of commercial vehicles and their
axle-loadings are considered.
Normally, the heavy commercial vehicles operate on the
outermost lane (the slow lane).
Hence, the procedure provides designs applicable to this lane.
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Traffic Analysis
Conversion factors to be used to obtain the equivalent number
of standard axles from the number of commercial vehicles.
Table 1

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Thickness Design of Pavement

Structure
Road Note 29 presented the charts for determining the minimum
thickness of various layers of pavement structure.
The main factors used in the design are the cumulative number of
standard axles, subgrade CBR and type of materials employed.

After determining the traffic and design period, the subgrade, the
subbase, the base and the surface are each considered in turn.

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Subgrade
The strength of the subgrade is a principal factor in determining the
thickness of the pavement.
The strength of the subgrade is assessed on the CBR scale.
Road Note 29 recommended that the water table should be
prevented from rising to within 600 mm of the finished subgrade
level.
This may be done by sub-soil drainage or by raising the finished
subgrade level by means of an embankment.
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 The required thickness of subbase is determined from the

cumulative number of standard axles to be carried and the CBR
of the subgrade using Fig 1.
In the case that CBR of the subgrade is less than 2 % (the
lowest value given in Fig 1), an additional 150 mm of subbase,
above the requirement for CBR 2 %, should be used.
For cumulative traffic of less than 0.5 million standard axles,
the minimum CBR of the subbase should be 20 %.
For cumulative traffic in excess of 0.5 million standard axles,
the2/11/16
minimum CBR Flexible
of the
subbase should be 30 %.
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Fig. 1:

 If the CBR of the subgrade is in excess of the minimum

requirement for the subbase, no subbase is required.

Where subbase is required the minimum thickness that

should be laid are 80 mm where the cumulative traffic is less
than 0.5 million standard axles and 150 mm where the traffic
is in excess of that value.
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Base Materials as Recommended by

Road Note 29

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Base
The thicknesses required for each of the base materials are
determined by the use of Fig 2 or Fig 3 or Fig.4 , in terms of
cumulative number of standard axles to be carried.
To use the charts, it should be noticed the difference in English
and American terminology.
Roadbase would be Base course
Basecourse would be Binder course.
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in

American

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and

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Fig. 2:
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Fig. 3:
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Fig. 4:
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Surfacing Course

The thickness of surfacing in terms of the cumulative number of standard axles to be carried
can be determined by Fig. 2, Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 depending on the type of base material used.
Road Note 29 recommended the surfacing course material to be varied with the cumulative
traffic to be carried and the details are given in Table 2.
The surfacing is intended to be laid in two courses, except where the cumulative traffic is
less than 0.5 million standard axles.
The thicknesses of surfacing course are indicated in Table 2.
For cumulative traffic of over 11 million standard axles the minimum thickness of surface
course plus binder course is 100 mm.
For additional surfacing thickness over 100 mm shown in Fig. 2, Fig. 3 and Fig. 4.
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Fig. 2:
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Fig.2:
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Fig.
4:
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Recommendation for Bituminous Surfacing in Road Note 29,

(Traffic in Cumulative Standard Axles, 106)

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Numerical Example
A double lane highway is to be constructed for the
present traffic load of 2500 cvpd at the time of
construction with an estimated traffic growth rate of
7%. The highway is to be designed for a life time of 20
years and the CBR value of subgrade is 5%.
Design the flexible pavement as per Road Note 29.
Adopt number of standard axles per commercial
vehicle = 1.08.
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Solution:
1) Traffic on each lane = = 1250 cvpd

2) Cumulative repetitions at the end of 20 years, N

= 1250 x 365 x x 1.08
= 20.2 msa
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Alternative - I
3) For CBR = 5% and N = 20.2 msa,
a) Thickness of Sub-base Course = 260 mm with minimum
CBR = 30%
b1)Thickness of Dense Macadam RoadBase

= 170 mm or

b2) Thickness of Rolled Asphalt RoadBase

= 150 mm

c)Thickness of Surfacing (Wearing Course + Base Course) = 100

mm
c1) Minimum Thickness of Wearing Course
c2) Thickness of Base Course
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= 40 mm
= 60 mm

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260 mm

20.2

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170 mm

20.2

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150 mm

20.2

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100 mm

20.2

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mmendation for Bituminous Surfacing in Road Note 2

(Traffic in Cumulative Standard Axles, 106)

In Our Case n = 20.2 msa = 20.2 x 106 sa > 11 msa

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Alternative- II
For CBR = 5% and N = 20.2 msa,
a) Thickness of Sub-base Course = 260 mm with
minimum CBR = 30%
b) Thickness of Lean Concrete Roadbase = 215 mm
c) Thickness of Surfacing = 140 mm
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215 mm

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140 mm

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Alternative - III
For CBR = 5% and N = 20.2 msa,
a) Thickness of Sub-base Course = 260 mm with
minimum CBR = 30%
b) Thickness of Wet Mix or Dry Bound Macadam Roadbase =
240 mm
c) Thickness of Surfacing = 150 mm
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240 mm

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150 mm

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