Sustainable Pavements with Precast Prestressed Concrete

Important aspects of sustainability are being achieved through the use of precast prestressed concrete for the repair and rehabilitation of existing pavements—namely, rapid construction during nighttime and other off-peak hours with minimum disruption to traffic; and, high-quality durable concrete pavement that offers long-life performance with little or no maintenance. Precast prestressed concrete pavement (PPCP) applications on pavement repair and rehabilitation projects throughout the United States during the last ten years have firmly established its ability to deliver these important aspects of sustainability. Projects constructed in California and Texas have been in service for more than six and eight years, respectively, have required no maintenance to date, providing initial support for the competitive life cycle cost of the PPCP system that was anticipated during design and construction. Recent projects in Delaware and Virginia have demonstrated the viability of PPCP for nighttime construction, minimizing traffic disruptions and returning all traffic lanes to service the following morning. PPCP is available for routine use by highway agencies seeking a sustainable solution for the repair and rehabilitation of high-volume roadways.