Construction of civil engineering infrastructure in regions with significant deposits of expansive clay is generally challenging due to the volumetric changes of the soil’s behavior. Moisture variations can cause expansive soils to become volumetrically unstable, which results in structural damage. Physical alteration and cushion techniques were the promising techniques for controlling the problems triggered by these soils. In the present study, barite powder, which is processed from Barite mineral, was used as an additive to alter the behavior of the expansive clay. The use of barite powder in the treatment of expansive clay is seldom explored. To assess the efficacy of barite powder as a stabilizer, Free swell index (FSI), consistency limits, compaction parameters, unconfined compressive strength, hydraulic conductivity, California bearing ratio (CBR), heave and stress-settlement characteristics were determined on the unblended and blended samples. In all the tests, barite powder was added to the expansive clay up to 30% in increments of 5%.  As the amount of the barite powder increased, FSI, plasticity, and heave decreased, while the strength, CBR, stress-settlement characteristics were improved. Further, CBR (soaked) tests were conducted on the untreated and treated clay beds cushioned with barite powder of thickness 50mm. The CBR of the untreated and treated clay beds provided with barite powder cushion enhanced significantly. The test results revealed that the use of barite powder as a blended and cushion material can be a viable alternative for low-volume pavement subgrades.