Pavement Design and Behaviour Heavily Trafficked Concrete Carriageways in the Seventies

In order to update pavement structure designing methods, the French Technical Network, SETRA (Roads and Highways Engineering Department) and LCPC (Central Public Works Laboratory) have used the LCPC road structure circular test track to study fatigue phenomena relating to several concrete pavement structures and to compare them with the "Californian type slab" structure wellknown in France. They have also analysed pavement structures in the French road network in order verify the coherence between the designing method and their real behaviour and to assess the impact of certain constructive measures (draining and extra width) implemented back in 1975. This paper details the recorded results and gives the initial conclusions of the first assessment of concrete pavements since they were first constructed in France.