An evaluation of repair techniques used for uncontrolled longitudinal cracking and failed longitudinal joints

Uncontrolled longitudinal cracking was a commonly observed distress in continuously reinforced concrete pavements in the Houston, Texas, area in the 1970's. In the early 1980's, the cracks were repaired by grooving the pavement surface along the crack line and then filling the groove and underlying crack with a polymer mortar. In 1989-90, the pavement was reconstructed using a 4-inch bonded concrete overlay. Prior to the overlay, a condition survey was made and the performance and effectiveness of the crack repair treatment were analyzed and included in the report. The concrete overlay project also included the restoration of a few hundred feet of longitudinal joints where the steel tie bars appeared to have failed. The load transfer was reestablished using a stitching process where 3-inch deep slots were cut transversely across the joint into the slabs on both sides of the joint. A steel bar was placed in the slot and the slot filled with epoxy. Measurements and discussions of the effectiveness are included in the report.