United States Department of Transportation
i
Innovative solutions to buried portland cement concrete roadways : second interim.
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2001-04-01
[PDF-696.51 KB]
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Abstract:Maine has hundreds of miles of highway that were constructed of
Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) roughly 6 to 6.1 m (18 to 20 ft) wide forty
or more years ago. Since that time these same highways have been paved
and widened to 6.7 or 7 m (22 or 24 ft) with hot bituminous pavements to
accommodate increased traffic volumes. Bituminous materials were used in
place of concrete due to the ease of placement and price of material.
PCC is a rigid pavement capable of supporting weight with little
deflection. Hot bituminous pavement is flexible and will bend to distribute
weight across the roadway. When the highway is expanded beyond the
concrete slab there is a sharp decrease of support for this bituminous
pavement resulting in settlement over prolonged use. This settlement may
also be compounded by poor drainage capabilities of the underlying soils
causing the unsupported pavement to drop lower than the existing height of
the concrete supported pavement. This creates a longitudinal crack aligning
with the concrete slab edge about 0.3 to 1 m (1 to 3 ft) from the right edge of
pavement. Pavement to the right of this crack deteriorates to the point where
maintenance crews attempt to smooth it out with cold patch year after year.
Paving over the entire roadway is an option but, due to reflective cracking,
the edge of pavement begins to deteriorate within 2 or 3 years.
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