1.2 Selection of Rigid Pavement Type
CRCP provides excellent long-term performance requiring very low maintenance. The department policy is to utilize CRCP for new or reconstructed rigid pavements in Texas. Although CRCP is the preferred concrete pavement type, the department has expanded the applications where CPCD can be used as an acceptable alternative to CRCP. The following criteria list the applications where CPCD can be used instead of CRCP at the discretion of the district engineer:
- For roadways with design traffic of 40 million ESALs or less,
- For frontage roads where CRCP is difficult to construct due to numerous leave-out sections,
- For roadways controlled and maintained by another government entity,
- For parking areas or roadways with crosswalks, adjacent parking, or sidewalks,
- For railroad crossings, approaches to structures, or to widen existing jointed pavement, or
- For intersections and approaches in flexible pavement roadways that are associated with vehicle braking and acceleration which could cause shoving and rutting of an asphalt pavement.
Table 8-1 recommends applicable concrete pavement types for particular situations.
Factors | Where/When | CPCD | CRCP |
|---|---|---|---|
Traffic Level | > 40 million ESALS | √√√ | |
10 - 40 million ESALS | √√ | √√√ | |
< 10 million ESALS | √√√ | √ | |
Constructability Under Traffic | Frontage Road with Numerous Leave-outs | √√√ | |
Intersection/Crossings | √√√ | ||
Material Sources | Use Local Coarse Aggregates with High COTE for Traffic Levels with ≤ 40 million ESALS | √√√ | |
Support Condition | Natural Subgrade with Higher Risk for Heaves | √√√ | |
On Embankment with Higher Risk for Voids under Slab | √√√ |
Consult the Maintenance Division, Pavement Asset Management Section, staff when considering CPCD pavements for situations not covered by the above criteria.
Rigid pavement types other than CRCP and CPCD may be appropriate for a wide variety of situations. Refer to Section 7, “Bonded and Unbonded Concrete Overlays,” and Section 8, “Thin Concrete Pavement Overlay (Thin Whitetopping),” for a description of other rigid pavement applications.