Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement Terminal Design

Abstract

In rigid pavement design the word “terminal” is used to describe the termination of a concrete pavement abutting other “structures” such as a flexible pavement, a bridge abutment, or another concrete pavement where structural continuity is impractical or undesirable. A discontinuity in grade caused by the differential settlement between a bridge structure and the adjoining road pavement, typically referred to by the travelling public as the “bump at the end of a bridge”, is well known in the road construction environment. In the United States it is known that this problem affected 25% (approximately 150,000) of all bridges during 2004. Bridge approach slabs are typically used to keep the effects of differential settlement at bridge abutments within tolerable limits. Frequently, however, the magnitude of settlement exceeds the working range of an approach slab, causing substantial maintenance problems. Similarly, differential settlement or movement often occurs where a concrete pavement terminates at a flexible pavement. The provision of anchors (lugs) to prevent horizontal creep due to expansion / contraction of the concrete is considered standard practice in terminal design. The aim of this paper is to compare various worldwide continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP) terminal design methods varying from terminal beams to seamless technology developed to eliminate isolation joints at bridge structures.