Concrete ‘Road Map’ Not Set in Stone

Stakeholder Needs Take Concrete ‘Road Map’ in New Directions

By Tom Kuennen, Contributing Editor

The CP Road Map, formally the Long-Term Plan for Concrete Pavement Research and Technology – first articulated to the industry at the Transportation Research Board meeting in January 2006 – is fine-tuning its direction and experiencing a few course corrections as research meets reality in a changing environment for concrete pavement studies. 

On I-35 near Kearney, Kan., stringless technology is resulting in a super-smooth pavement for the Kansas DOT.

The refreshed program is symbolized by a new logo which demonstrates how different pieces of a puzzle come together to form a solid pavement.

Under the aegis of the National Concrete Pavement Technology Center (National CP Tech Center) at Iowa State University – which provides operations support services to the CP Road Map program – the CP Road Map is in the fourth year of a 10-year strategic plan that outlines approximately $250 million in needed concrete pavement research.

While the CP Road Map articulates a broad variety of research needs, local budgets and sheer necessity has curtailed the scope of ongoing research activity from coast to coast.

Now, seven active tracks (of 13 total) are active, dubbed Priority Tracks in the CP Road Map literature. These are:

Track 1: Performance-Based Concrete Pavement Mix Design System

Track 2: Performance-Based Design Guide for New and Rehabilitated Concrete Pavements

Track 3: High-Speed Nondestructive Testing and Intelligent Construction Systems

Track 4: Optimized Surface Characteristics for Safe, Quiet, and Smooth Concrete Pavements

Track 7: High-Speed Concrete Pavement Rehabilitation and Construction

Track 11: Concrete Pavement Business Systems and Economics, and