COMPARATIVE STUDY OF REBOUND HAMMER STRENGTH OF PCC RURAL ROADS

The beginning of road construction could be dated to the time of the Romans. With the advancement of technology from carriages pulled by two horses to vehicles with power equivalent to 100 horses, road development had to follow suit. The construction of modern highways did not begin until the late 19th to early 20th century. Developed countries are consta ntly faced with high maintenance cost of aging transportation highways. The growth of the motor vehicle industry and accompanying economic growth has generated a demand for safer, better performing, less congested highways. The growth of commerce, educatio nal institutions, housing, and defense have largely drawn from government budgets in the past, making the financing of public highways a challenge. The multipurpose characteristics of highways, economic environment, and the advances in highway pricing tech nology are constantly changing. Therefore, the approaches to highway financing, management, and maintenance are constantly changing as well. This comparative study presents compressive strength of cement concrete rural roads obtained using rebound hammer a pparatus. In this study total 15 roads are considered. Three sections were taken in each road and at each section five positions were taken for applying Non - Destructive test using Rebound hammer. Strengths are compared with design strength