Precast concrete pavement slabs (PCPS) are prefabricated offsite in factory-controlled conditions that are delivered to the job site fully cured and ready to be installed for immediate use. The precast slabs are typically placed upon a prepared subgrade surface that fully supports and positions them such that the top surface of the slab meets the required theoretical pavement surface within specified tolerances.
Precast concrete pavement systems are installed rapidly in abbreviated work windows, some as short as 5 hours, on heavily congested traffic corridors and will result in concrete pavement that will withstand heavy traffic flow over many years.
RESOURCES
PCPS Promo Sheet
Paving Slab Specifications
Technical Drawing Example (courtesy of MinnDOT)
AASHTO Best Practices Manual for PCPS (customizable)
AASHTO Specification for PCPS (customizable)
AASHTO Design Standards of PCPS (customizable)
PCPS Eco-LEED Attributes
Written PCPS Specification Example
PCPS Dowel Bar Retrofit Specification Example
Illinois PCPS Tollway System - Technical Drawings
NJDOT’s Experience with Precast PCPS
PCPS –A Part of the Pavement Management Toolkit
AASHTO TIG - Promoting the use of PCPS
CASE STUDIES
Precast Concrete Pavements and Results of Accelerated Traffic Load Test
An Introduction to PCPS Systems
Federal Highway Administration - Study 1
Federal Highway Administration - Study 2
Federal Highway Administration - PCPS Field Trials
Precast Concrete Pavement Systems for Rapid Pavement Repair
TESTIMONIALS
"When the Thruway Authority was contemplating the replacement of the pavement at the Tappan Zee Bridge Toll Plaza in the mid-1990's, it was readily apparent that it would not be possible to have any of the (then) 13 toll lanes out of service during the morning rush. The Toll Plaza serves over 135,000 vehicles daily and all lanes are required between 6 A.M. and 10 A.M. each day. The Authority's design engineers worked with a local precast concrete company to devise a system of precast pavement panels that could be installed during the narrow work windows; approximately 1,064 panels were installed totaling nearly 4 acres of new, durable and smooth pavement.
The success of this 2001-2002 toll plaza project provided the Thruway Authority with the confidence to specify precast pavement slabs in a recent seven-mile, six-lane pavement rehabilitation project on I-95, another heavily traveled section of its Interstate system. Precast pavement slabs are now firmly a part of the Authority's "tool box" and will be considered whenever short work windows and high traffic volumes limit other options. The durability of precast concrete lends itself nicely to the Highways for LIFE doctrine of "Get In, Get Out, Stay Out!""
Christopher A. Waite, P.E.
Chief Engineer
NYS Thruway Authority
NYS Canal Corporation
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
U.S. Dept. of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration