Time Line of Airport Use of Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement

Abstract

This paper is a timeline of significant uses of continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP) at airports projects in the United States and abroad. Information has been gathered from detailed records kept at the Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute during the 1960s and 1970s and from various industry sources from around the world. The paper gives a short overview of the successful applications and performance of CRCP at airport facilities  runways, taxiways, aprons, at both commercial and military airfields. CRCP was first looked at in 1921 by the Bureau of Public Roads, and followed by the Stilesville, Indiana, roadway project in 1938; Vandalia, Illinois, roadway project in 1947; Fairfield, California, roadway project 1949; and many experimental miles in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Texas and other states in the early 1950s. The first use of CRCP at airports began in the 1960s and is still used today, although in a more limited capacity. CRCP served Chicago O’Hare with no major rehabilitation for over 35 years of heavy use. The paper will also briefly cover the design aspects of CRCP for airports, including available design methods.