Performance of Crack & Seat and Saw & Seal Overlays

Maintenance problems in asphalt concrete overlays over portland cement concrete pavements may result from reflection cracking at the location of working joints and cracks in the underlying slab. Two methods of reflection crack control which have been used by many agencies in the United States within the past ten years are saw and sealing and crack and seating. This paper presents the findings of field studies of the two methods. Properly constructed sawed and sealed joints were found to reduce the adverse effects of reflection cracking. The crack and seat sections examined in this project were less successful.