PAVEMENT PRESERVATION FOR CONCRETE PAVEMENT

Pavement preservation is an important aspect of obtaining the maximum life out of a pavement structure and in providing the traveling public a high level of serviceability. Preservation activities for Portland Cement Concrete Pavements have been developed for the past 30 years. These activities consist of slab stabilization, full-depth slab replacement, partial-depth slab replacement, load transfer restoration, cross stitching, joint resealing, retrofitting concrete shoulders, grooving and diamond grinding. Not all of these techniques are appropriate for each project and the designer must decide the right treatments for the project based upon the pavement condition and performance history as well as future traffic and loading projections. These preservation activities are known as CPR and are intended to manage the rate of deterioration of PCC pavements. Past experience and research has shown that there are time frames for each project when each of the treatments are most effective. It is important that the condition surveys are conducted to establish the performance and current condition of a project before specifying the CPR treatments. The maximum benefits are only obtained when the right treatments are applied at the right time to a project. These "windows of opportunity" will be project specific, but guidelines are available for making these decisions based upon research and past experiences. The maximum benefits at the least cost are always obtained when applied early and not delay until a significant amount of distress is evident. There have been many successful applications of CPR. Many times failed projects where CPR treatments did not perform can be attributed to having done CPR too late for the pavement condition. The Georgia DOT has been very successful in extending the life of their PCC pavements up to twenty years and six to seven times the design loadings through an aggressive pavement preservation program. Through diamond grinding the older PCC pavements are also providing a smoother ride after 25 to 30 years than originally build.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Full conference proceedings available on CD-ROM.
• Corporate Authors:

  Federal Highway Administration

  Office of Asset Management, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Gulden, W
• Conference:
  • National Pavement Preservation Forum II: Investing in the Future
  • Location: San Diego, California
  • Date: 2001-11-6 to 2001-11-8
• Publication Date: 2001

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: 1p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Benefit cost analysis; Condition surveys; Cost effectiveness; Decision making; Deterioration; Forecasting; Joint sealing; Pavement distress; Pavement performance; Portland cement concrete; Preservation; Ride quality; Service life; Serviceability; Slabs; Stabilizers; Structures; Traffic
• Geographic Terms: Georgia
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Design; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Materials; Operations and Traffic Management; Pavements; I22: Design of Pavements, Railways and Guideways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00976155
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA-IF-03-019
• Files: TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Jul 26 2004 12:00AM