A New
Generation of Concrete Pavement Technology
America's
first concrete pavement, a 2.4-m (8-ft) wide strip in Bellefontaine,
Ohio, made its debut in 1891. Since then, significant technical and
design developments have made concrete paving faster, less expensive,
and more durable. Today, however, increased traffic and heavier loads
are placing ever greater demands on the Nation's roads. To keep up with
these demands, the 1998 Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century
provided $30 million to "carry out research on improved methods of using
concrete pavement in the construction, reconstruction, and repair of
federal-aid highways." The Concrete Pavement Technology Program (CPTP)
is the result of this funding.
A new brochure
available from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Innovative
Pavement Research Foundation (IPRF), Developing a New Generation of
Concrete Pavements, provides readers with an introduction to CPTP. The
program is dedicated to research, development, and technology delivery
activities aimed at improving the performance and cost-effectiveness
of concrete pavements. CPTP's primary goals are:
-
Reducing
user delays
-
Reducing
user costs
-
Improving
performance
-
Fostering
innovation
The program
is addressing these goals through the development of tools, guidelines,
procedures, and software that can be used in the material selection,
mix design, pavement design, construction, and operation of concrete
pavements.
In the
area of reducing user delays, the anticipated products include developing
a method for using precast concrete panels to facilitate rapid pavement
construction and establishing traffic management guidelines for reconstructing
high-volume roadways. Planned products that will help reduce costs include
establishing guidelines for applying life-cycle cost analysis to concrete
pavements and developing a comparison of the costs and benefits of various
design features.
Products
that will help improve performance include establishing guidelines for
the optimum timing of concrete pavement preventive maintenance, recycling
of concrete pavements, and pavement repair and rehabilitation. And in
the area of fostering innovation, the program will be developing workshops
on pavement smoothness, concrete durability, and pavement design details.
CPTP is
being jointly administered by FHWA and IPRF, a concrete paving industry
consortium. The program's partners also include State highway agencies
and the Transportation Research Board.
To obtain
a copy of the brochure, contact Bob Bestold at IPRF, 703-288-8564 (fax:
703-288-8566; email: rbetsold@erols.com),
or Steve Forster at FHWA, 202-493-3070 (fax: 202-493-3161; email: steve.forster@fhwa.dot.gov).
The brochure is also available on the Web at www.iprf.org/cptp.pdf.
For more information on CPTP, contact Suneel Vanikar at FHWA, 202-366-0120
(fax: 202-493-2070; email: suneel.vanikar@fhwa.dot.gov).
Other
articles in this issue:
In
Brief
Highway
Materials Recycling: Partnering for sustainability
Value
Engineering Improves Quality, Cuts Costs
A
New Generation of Concrete Pavement Technology
Maintaining
the highway infrastructure of the future
Bridge
study analyzes accuracy of visual inspections
Highway
technology calendar