ABSTRACT

To build a sponge city which can absorb and keep the rain water under the pavements of roads, pedestrian walks, parking lots has been recently gaining more and more attention to the public and the government as well. Although this is a good idea for the sustainability of the environment, it may be a bad idea for the road maintenance department. Because the water seep-in and stored in the water storage space under the porous pavement may soften the base soil and cause it to lose bearing capacity. This paper proposes a modified sub-base design for the porous pavement. It introduces a water barrier under the gravel layer which is used to make a water storage space. This design also integrates the porous pavement with the porous side ditches. It can not only keep the water storage capacity beneath the porous pavement but also maintain the infiltration ability of water to moisture the base soil without suffering bearing capacity reduction of the base soil. The lab scale tests will be adopted to study the soil-water behavior and the strength properties of the base soil.