Category:570 Portland Cement Concrete Pavement Maintenance

Concrete pavements that have been built over the years vary in design, width, thickness, type of joint, kind of material and in other ways. It is not practical to discuss the maintenance of each type separately. The following applies to concrete surfaces in general.

To remain in good condition, a concrete slab must have strong uniform support from the soil or other materials beneath the pavement and the surface kept as smooth as possible in order to reduce the destructive effect of impact. Once the support is taken away by settlement or by the scouring effect of water action or is weakened by saturation, prompt action must be taken to remedy the situation, otherwise the slab will crack and breakup.

Concrete for maintenance repair and replacement must be received from a calibrated ready mix plant. The Materials Division shall provide a list of ready mix plants for district use that are calibrated. Concrete from a non calibrated ready mix plant may only be used if there is no calibrated plant within a reasonable driving distance from the work site.

The most common failures of Portland cement concrete pavements are:

Cracked or broken slabs,

Spalled and buckled joints,

Scaled surfaces,

Sunken slabs, and

Faulted joints.

Maintenance will in general consist of the following:

1. Repair of surface failures.

2. Repair of complete slab failures by concrete replacement.

3. Repair of buckled pavement.

4. Repair of sunken slabs by patching or mudjacking.

5. Preventive maintenance by sealing joints and cracks.

6. Preventive maintenance by maintenance of drainage facilities to adequately drain the base and subbase and by slab stabilization.

7. Preparatory maintenance prior to resurfacing with asphaltic concrete upper decks.

To supplement the articles and maintenance planning guidelines in this category there is also a Maintenance Planning Guideline for Milling High Joints available.