Investigation of the usability of Karacadağ basalt as sub-base and base material for highways

Road construction is a sector that has been under construction since the ancient times of history and has a great importance in order of needs. Road construction works, which are of great importance in every period of history, are very important for transportation, which humanity always needs. Due to the development of this sector and the need for necessary raw materials, there is a need for aggregate to be used in the road construction sector. These needed aggregates are supplied by various methods. Aggregates to be supplied should reduce road construction costs. The proximity of the furnaces or the environment where the material is supplied reduces the cost considerably. For this reason, studies have been carried out considering that Karacadağ basalt, which is a superficial volcanic rock in the Karacadağ region, is an accessible material and is located on arable lands. In the first part of the thesis, general information about highway construction is given. In the following sections of the thesis, the limit values in the Highways Technical Specification are mentioned so that the material can be used in highway construction. In the last chapters, the use of Karacadağ basalt and the plants that can be obtained from fertile lands as a result of reclamation works from the earth are given. If Karacadağ basalt is rehabilitated and used in the sub-base and foundation layers of road construction, the aggregate supply required for highway construction will be facilitated, and the lands that cannot perform agricultural activities due to basalt aggregates will be reintroduced to agriculture. Highway aggregate tests of PMT and PMAT materials obtained from Karacadağ basalt were carried out. The results of these tests were compared with the limit values in the Highways Technical Specifications. As a result of these experiments, it has been observed that Karacadağ basalt can be used in the subbase and foundation layers of highways. It has been concluded that more reliable and precise results can be obtained with the experiments carried out as a result of increasing the test repetitions and supplying Karacadağ basalt from various regions.