Abstract The detrimental consequences of swelling soils are most apparent in arid and semi-arid
regions. Sedimentary clays are mixtures of illite, kaolinite and some montmorillonite. There are various
soil types liable to swell such as shale, mudstone, siltstone and marl due to the presence of
Smectite group in these soils. Large volume changes of these types of soils can cause extensive damages
to civil engineering infrastructures; roads, airport pavements, pipelines and shallow foundations.
A number of localities in Egypt are well-known by the presence of swelling soils. Sohag –
Safaga highway in the Eastern Desert of Egypt is considered to be an investable transportation road
and one of the most important lateral connections between Upper Egypt and the Red Sea area. The
study area is located in a buffer zone of 25 km from both sides of the highway. This area is believed
to be more influenced by the road and could be fully utilized to share in developing areas in the road
vicinity. The research objectives are to use recent ASTER satellite imageries with the aid of field
samples to map different swelling clay minerals and compare between the different sensors accuracy
in locating them within the buffer zone. Certain engineering measures should be considered to
enable construction over these types of swelling soils. The results confirmed the presence of montmorillonite
in this buffer zone and in the 5 km buffer around the road which represents a hazard
especially for the future planned projects within this area.
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by-nc-nd/4.0/).