WEST-VIRGINIA-DEPARTMENT-OF-TRANSPORTATION USE OF A FREE-DRAINING BASE AND THE ROLE OF GEOTEXTILES AS LONG-TERM SEPARATORS

The West Virginia Department of Transportation has been working with o pen-graded base courses for well over a decade. With the incorporation of these free-draining bases came the subsequent demand for a method to maintain the free-draining nature of these open-graded stone course s. Since the inception and continuing improvement of West Virginia's f ree-draining pavement systems, a geotextile has been an essential elem ent in the overall success of the pavement structure. This paper discu sses the role of geotextiles in West Virginia's pavement systems and t he use of geotextiles in West Virginia from 1982 to the present. Copyr ight (C) 1996