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 The leading cause of pavement and roadway failure in
the U.S. is contamination of the aggregate base and the resulting loss in aggregate strength. When aggregate is placed on a subgrade, the bottom layer becomes
contaminated with soil. Over time, traffic loading and vibration punches pavement base aggregate into the soil and causes silt and clay to migrate upward. On
wet sites, construction traffic causes pumping of weak subgrade soils into overlying aggregate. All of these conditions decrease the effective aggregate thickness destroying the road
support and reducing roadway performance and life.
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 Geotextiles provide four important functions which enhance roadway
performance: separation, stabilization, reinforcement and drainage. The geotextile you select depends on which functions are suited to your project.
Both woven and nonwoven geotextiles provide long-term separation of the aggregate base from the subgrade soil. By separating these two materials,
the geotextile maintains the original thickness of the roadway aggregate. This is the most important geotextile function for roads, particularly when
constructing on weak to moderate strength subgrade soils. The geotextile also makes it possible to use a more open-graded, high permeability
pavement aggregate base which improves rapid drainage. By decreasing aggregate loss and increasing its permeability, you substantially increase roadway performance and life while decreasing maintenance costs.
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