A Review on the Use of Stress Absorbing Membrane Inter Layers (SAMIs) as Remedy for Reflective Cracks in Pavement

This paper looks at the need for Nigeria to adopt innovative road maintenance strategy to reduce the colossal amount expended on construction and maintenance of roads. Federal government budget to Federal Ministry of Works in 2012 is N199, 032, 816, 621 (199 billion). Federal roads account for only 17% of total roads in Nigeria with Local government roads being 67% of the total. It highlights the defects in road pavement in general with emphasis on reflective cracking, which is the major problem of overlaid pavement, its causes and mechanism. The paper reviews successes recorded in the use of Stress Absorbing Membrane Interlayers (SAMIs) which is the use of stress-relieving interlayer at the interface between the overlay and the old pavement. Its use for both road and airport pavements has been largely successful based on the series of laboratory and field examinations.