A Comparative Study of Portland Cement, Hydrated Lime and Lateralite as Stabilizing Agents of Quaternary Coastal Plain Sands North of Lagos Metropolis and as Road Construction Material

Abstract

The Lagos end of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway has been constructed within a wetland terrain of South Western Nigeria. The section was constructed upon a thick deposit of relatively loose, silty and slightly clayey sand technically referred to as the Coastal Plain Sand. The formation is a major sedimentary deposit in Southern Nigeria, and it is a major road construction soil material in the northern environs of the Lagos metropolis that has been massively quarried by many road contactors as borrow materials for several years. Previous and present studies confirm the substandard geotechnical properties of the deposit as road construction material. It requires substantial improvement through stabilization by additives. This study examines the effect of three fluxes, namely Portland cement, Hydrated Lime and newly evolved “Lateralite’’ on the compaction and California Bearing Ratio (CBR) characteristics on several samples of the deposit. Lateralite offered the highest hope of stabilizing the deposit effectively for highway construction on account of its significant anti-shrinkage/swelling control and CBR enhancing effect on treated samples of Coastal Plain Sand deposit.