Design and Construction of a Concrete Pavement on Compressible Muds

This paper deals with the design, construction and performance of a freeway section over a thick layer of compressible mud. Halfway on the Madrid to Zaragoza freeway, in the valley of the Jalón River, several very soft clayey deposits were found, originated by endorreic drainage basins. The ground treatment systems used, togethcr with the pre-loading for the foundation of fills to assure their transverse stability and to reduce and accelerate their settlements are described. They were necessary because of the high long-term compressibility of the alluvial valley deposits: some fills only 3.5 m high have settled more than 1.0 m. Reasons for the design of the final solution are given, together with construction details, such as lean concrete pavement jointing. Pavement performance after two years under traffic is examined.