Plain Concrete Highway Pavements in New South Wales Australia 1983 – 2015

Abstract

Concrete highway pavements have been constructed in the State of New South Wales (NSW) Australia since the mid 1920s. Prior to 1983 the principal pavement type was jointed reinforced with a few sections of CRCP. In 1983 plain concrete was introduced for highway construction. Within an overall inventory of more than 850km of highway pavement completed and under construction since around 1980, approximately 650km are plain concrete, the remainder being CRCP. One feature of these plain concrete pavements is the inclusion of undoweled transverse contraction joints. This paper sets out the factors leading to the introduction of this type of pavement including undoweled joints, and the evolution of jointing, thickness, subbase, shoulders and overall carriageway cross sections since 1983. The importance of designing the pavement as a system, not just a series of components, and placing as much importance on what is under the slab, as for the slab itself, is emphasised. International source technologies from which NSW practice has drawn are referenced. Contemporary design traffic loads, thickness design procedures, model drawings and construction specifications, construction practice and an overview of maintenance experience are referenced.