ABSTRACT
In soft soil conditions, the construction of embankments may cause significant subsidence during lifetime of the construction. The standard procedure to avoid large remaining settlements after project completion is pre-loading, often in combination with vertical drainage. However, this approach is time-consuming, costly, and has a considerable carbon footprint. For a highway in the province of Zeeland (The Netherlands), an alternative solution was found using foam glass as a lightweight fill material. The subsoil consists of highly compressible clay and peat layers with an average thickness of 8 m. Foam glass was also used to construct a stabilized foundation layer for support of the road construction. The stabilization consists of a mixture of foam glass, cement, in situ clay and the Geosta® additive. This innovative approach accelerates the building process and reduces the carbon footprint of the project considerably. Furthermore, the stabilized foam glass forms a foundation layer with considerable strength and stiffness, which may reduce the required asphalt thickness.
