According to the World Bank, our roads are some of the most important assets of any country. Keeping them well-maintained is not only cost-efficient but also an excellent way to avoid various types of accidents. A survey on the Southern California highways was conducted to see the benefits of rapid strength concrete (RSC), both short and long-term, for pavement repair. It was found that RSC was providing “durable and long-lasting repair.” A condition survey conducted in 2018 supports this statement when they examined approximately 5,000 individual RSC slabs from 15 freeway projects across 6 regions. The result showed that only 1.4% of the RSC slabs were pre-maturely distressed.
Not only it strengthens the road, using RSC for pavement repairs requires less time. In more or less 6 hours, the whole slab replacement can be completed. This gives the contractor a very ideal scenario where they can finish the job while the road is least busy. This survey also showed that RSC slabs increase the life of the road to up to 30 years. This is based on the fact that minimum distress was found at about the 17-year mark. The study also recommends that diamond grinding is necessary to achieve the desired pavement smoothness.
In a recent article featured in For Construction Pros, they write, “It is estimated that outer lane ISR-RSC individual, thin slabs have service lives of 10-to-13 years and inner lanes with less truck traffic in the order of 15-20 years with the same thin slabs.”
Continue Reading: California Measures Long-Term Performance of Rapid Strength Concrete for Pavement Restoration