Concrete Pavement Preservation: Lessons Learned from 11 Case Studies

An ongoing FHWA project is redefining concrete pavement preservation as “preserving the existing concrete pavement structure to extend its service life for as long as possible, by arresting, greatly diminishing, or avoiding the pavement deterioration process.” This can be achieved through three fundamental approaches: (a) designing and constructing pavements that remain structurally adequate and relatively distress-free throughout their service lives (i.e., using long-life concrete pavement), (b) using asphalt or concrete overlays as preservation treatments to maintain the functional performance of the pavement, and (c) maintaining the serviceability of the pavement using concrete pavement restoration (CPR) treatments. One of the tasks under the project was to document 11 concrete pavement projects around the U.S. that have successfully demonstrated the application of the three fundamental preservation approaches mentioned above. This includes information on the following: (a) original pavement design, materials, and construction, (b) traffic and service conditions, (c) maintenance and rehabilitation history, (d) present day condition [based on site visits in 2018], and (e) economic analysis. This paper highlights key information for 11 different case study projects and presents a summary of lessons learned from each project. The information gleaned from these success stories are being used in the development of guidelines for long-term concrete pavement preservation strategies.