Abstract: The Akanfa–Gbaran Road traverses sections of the geomorphic meander belt and crosses the Epie Creek, near Yenegoa, Bayelsa State capital. Road construction in this area is usually at exceptionally high cost because of the challenging geologic, geomorphic and environmental setting of the Niger delta. Using a combination of geotechnical borings and Cone penetration soundings, the subgrade underlying the road was characterized, providing litho-stratigraphic, shear strength, bearing capacity, settlement and axial pile capacity data for the area. Results show that competent bearing soil layers occur at shallow depths and only the top 1.5m of the subgrade need be improved for effective pavement performance. Predicted axial pile capacities for a range of closed ended, steel tubular pile diameters 300mm, 450mm and 600mm show that pile embedment need not exceed 15m except for considerations of scour.