Concrete Highway Pavement with Thin Upper Layer Concrete and Concrete Pavement on Short Bridges

For concrete pavements the new “thin upper layer concrete“ construction method, potentially in connection with the method of “thick concrete pavement“ placed on an unbound roadbase enables a 40mm thick upper layer concrete having a maximum aggregate size of only 8mm to be placed instead of a 70mm thick upper concrete layer having a maximum aggregate size of 22 or 32mm. The fundamental interrelationship applies that skid-resistance will be all the greater and noise development all the lower the smaller the maximum size of the exposed aggregate on the surface of the pavement. Therefore, the “thin upper layer concrete“ method with a small maximum aggregate size will even assure good adhesion coupled with lower noise development when the texturized surface mortar of the concrete pavement gradually disappears after a service life of 10 to 15 years and the smaller maximum aggregate size of the “thin upper layer concrete“, the crucial factor in the surface properties, is exposed at the surface. The possibility of constructing a concrete pavement on bridges of up to 15m length or – the more important criterion – on bridges without transitional structures results in a better quality of the overall roadway and more cost-effective construction.