Concrete Pavements in Argentina Development and Evolution

Argentina has a rich history in concrete pavement construction. However, in the late 70s this type of pavement begins to lose protagonism in national road activity. In order to reinstate this solution for paving and rehabilitation projects, the Instituto del Cemento Portland Argentino, in the mid-90s, carried out a series of actions which included professional and technician training, strengthening ties with public agencies and contractors, involving in technical assistance related to pavement design and construction. This paper summarizes the progressive development of a new generation of concrete pavements in Argentina, which combines high life expectancy with excellent final quality indexes. It also makes a review of the different projects that have been built during the last years which have allowed that at the present time, the rigid alternative got a leading place between the options for paving roads, highways and airports, as well as for rehabilitation of deteriorated flexible pavements. For each one of these projects, this paper summarizes the main design features, the essential elements that have been considered for the adoption of this technical solution and the technologies employed for construction.