ACCELERATED CONSTRUCTION OF URBAN INTERSECTIONS WITH PORTLAND CEMENT CONCRETE PAVEMENT (PCCP)

The frequent maintenance required on some asphalt concrete (AC) pavement sections has made reconstruction with Portland Cement Concrete Pavement (PCCP) a feasible alternative. However, many constructability issues need to be addressed in order to realize the full potential of this alternative. Accelerated paving encompasses three classes of activities: methods to accelerate the rate of strength gain, methods to minimize the construction time, and traffic control strategies to minimize user delay. Three major AC intersections with severe rutting problems were reconstructed with PCCP. The entire reconstruction of each intersection, including demolition of the AC pavement and its replacement with PCCP, took place over a period of three days, starting on Thursday evening and opening the intersection to the traffic on Sunday afternoon. This paper discusses the use of PCCP for accelerated reconstruction of major urban intersections with minimal user and traffic disruption, using innovative construction techniques and traffic management optimization principles and demonstrates that concrete pavements can be constructed efficiently and quickly.