Widening and Intersections Improvement, Highway N17, Jempol, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

This project is located in Jempol, Negeri Sembilan in Malaysia. Highway N17 originally had only one lane. To improve the quality and convenience for the regional traffic, County Government called for a highway widening and intersections improvement project for Jalan Dangi, Kepas and Bahau.

The soft subsurface and the rainy conditions of the proposed site created difficulties for the proposed construction.

To solve this problem and help construction operate more smoothly, the contractor first raised the grade to one meter below the design elevation by filling satisfied site material. Then, a ground stabilization system was placed to reinforce the weak subgrade. It consisted of a layer of nonwoven geotextile and a layer of ACEGrid® geogrid GG100-II. The nonwoven geotextile was designed for filtration and drainage, and GG100-II, a bi-axial high resistance product, was installed for bearing capacity improvement. A 45-cm thick compacted fill was then placed and a second layer of GG100-II was installed. Geogrids fully interlocked with soil particles created an enhanced composite material with higher performance characteristics. Crushed base course and asphalt concrete surface course was each then placed as those procedures for traditional pavement construction.

Since the completion of the project, the highway has performed well to date. No instability or settlement has been observed around the site. The ground stabilization system provides a simple, fast, and cost effective solution for ground reinforcement. It has been demonstrated to completely meet the demands of the site and is worthy of being considered as a model for other similar projects.