This paper presents an experimental study to evaluate the effects of water content on the mechan-ical behavior of gravel subjected to moving wheel loads. First, two types of small scale model tests which adopteda fixed-place loading method and a moving loading method were performed with a base course material underair-dried condition and saturated condition. Next, two types of multi-ring shear tests which could consider achange in direction of principal stresses like traffic loads were performed likewise. Based on test results, therelationships between the water content of test samples and the deformation-strength characteristics were exam-ined. As the results, it was revealed that the shear strength of gravel decreased and the cumulative residual strainincreased due to the saturation in both tests, regardless of loading methods. This indicates that the water contentof gravel influences the mechanical behavior of granular roadbed strongly.
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