Tia, Mang

Florida. Dept. of Transportation

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Concrete sets in hours at moderate temperatures,

but the bonds that make concrete strong continue

to mature over days to years. However, for

replacement concrete slabs on highways, it is

crucial that concrete develop enough strength

within a few hours so that the lane under

repair can be reopened for traffic. The Florida

Department of Transportation (FDOT) specifies

that concrete in this application have compressive

strength of at least 2,200 pounds per square inch

(psi) before reopening and 3,000 psi at 24 hours.

The earlier that engineers know the concrete will

meet its maturity, the better. There is a tradeoff

between opening too early and damaging the

concrete or waiting and incurring additional costs.

US Transportation Collection