Recent developments in the design and construction of concrete pavements for German expressways

In Germany, concrete pavements have proved successful for heavy-traffic expressways catering to axle loads of 11.5 to 13 t. The surface offers durable, good skidding resistance and develops little noise. The service life is 25 to 40 years. Old concrete pavements are recycled into crushed aggregates for new pavement concrete, or crushed aggregate base courses. Concrete pavements are produced without expansion joints or reinforcement. Transverse joints are arranged every 5 m. Transverse joints are doweled, and longitudinal joints are anchored using tie-bars. Concrete pavements for the highest traffic loads are 260 mm thick, if they are placed on a cement-bound base, and 300 mm thick if placed directly on a crushed aggregate base. Slipform pavers are used to place the concrete, normally in two layers. The paper* presents an overview of developments in the design and construction of concrete pavements in Germany.