Construction Guidelines

Plain Cement Concrete Pavement

1 Plain Cement Concrete Pavements:
Rural roads are paved to make them hard and durable to withstand the traffic load
sufficiently. Secondly, shingle roads have rough riding surface and become slippery in
rains, entailing high maintenance. Plain Cement Concrete (PCC) roads are preferred due
to less maintenance, smooth riding surface and clean environment to the users.
1.1 Design:
Ruling factors for road pavement design are the vehicular load, traffic density, and soil
bearing capacity. The road pavement has three parts, (i) sub-base, (ii) base, and (iii)
surface course. The thickness of each depends upon these factors. In mountainous areas
of CDLD zone, generally a hard stable soil stratum is available hence, sub-base course
may be considered optional. Sometimes the natural surface is either hard rock or stable
conglomerate soil, which requires little efforts of dressing and leveling. In such cases
existing PCC pavement may need rehabilitation of wearing course along with repair of
Figure 1: Typical design of PCC pavement.
damaged sections.
1.2 Instructions for PCC Pavement Construction:
Following are the main steps for construction of PCC pavement in rural areas.
a. Road Alignment:
Before Starting construction work, road layout and alignment is
mandatory. Followings must be adhered to:
 Road start and end point (SP/EP) should be marked clearly with
red paint in the most visible manner.
 Running distances (RD) may be marked at 25, 50 or 100 ft intervals.
 Road centerline (CL) should be fixed with tight red string.
 Total carriageway width must be measured on either side of CL,
with tight yellow strings.
 Each turning point (TP) should be marked with a red-painted peg.
 TP gives a clear understanding of deflection angle along, with
horizontal curvature and super-elevation.
 horizontal curvature and super-elevation must also be laid and
marked with strings, maintaining the road geometry. Figure 2: Turning point location and curvature alignment.
b. Clearing and Grubbing:
After having completed the road layout and
alignment, clearing and grubbing will be done
in the following sequence:
 All weeds, grasses, herbs, shrubs and
roots etc within the carriageway must
be dug out and removed.
 Top 9 – 12 inches organic soil layer is to
be dug out and discarded away.
 Cutting and filling is the next stage to it.

Figure 3: Method of grubbing out Figure 4: Cutting and filling.

c. Leveling and Dressing:

 Before construction begins the road surface should be leveled and dressed
properly.
 The pavement should be made plain and uniform.
 This process can be done either by machine or manually.
 The site is graded to cut the raised portion and to fill the low areas to the
desired roadway profiled elevation.
 Generally cut material is used as filling in low areas and side filling after
Pavement is done.
Figure 5: Cut and fill mechanism.
d. Subgrade Soil:
 If the surface is hard enough then no
need to provide subgrade soil.
 The leveled and dressed surface will
automatically act as subgrade.
 But if the leveled ground consists of
loose material like sand or loose soil then
a layer of clay is provided as subgrade
soil.
 It is then compacted mixing water with
it until it is hard enough and sustain
settlement of the above layers.
 In CDLD district as most of the roads are
constructed in the mountainous region
so subgrade soil is not mostly required.
Photo 1: Placing of sub-grade soil Photo 2: Sub-grade soil should be fully compacted.

e. Sub-base Course.
 The layer above subgrade soil is called
subbase course.
 The main load bearing strata is the sub
base course.
 It is mostly omitted when the surface is
rock.
 Aggregates or stone soiling are
provided as subbase course.
 Its function is to distribute the load
equally to the subgrade.
 The maximum thickness of the subbase
course in CDLD area can be taken as 9
inches. Photo 3: Base and sub-base courses. Figure 6: Rolling load distribution.
f. Base Course.
 The layer in between the surface course
and the sub-base course is called base
course.
 It consists of lean concrete or coarse
aggregates.
 Its thickness in CDLD area can be taken
between 4 and 6 inches.

Figure 7: Pavement layers displaying coarser to finer

Photo 4: Lean concrete base course. aggregates.

g. Surface Course.
 The outermost layer of PCC pavement is
called wearing course or surface
course.
 It is rich cement concrete with a
thickness of between 3 and 4 inches.
 In some cases, steel is also provided to
reinforce it against traffic load.
 After placing the surface course the
edges should be made chamfered and
not kept sharp to prevent it from
distortion and deterioration.
Photo 5: Pavement surface and expansion joints. Photo 6: PCC sharp edges being chamfered.
h. Formwork.
 Laying of concrete for the pavement
either it is base course or surface course
is not possible without fixing formwork.
 Wooden sheets, plywood, fiber
hardboard and steel plates are mostly
used as formwork.
 Formwork should be watertight so that
slurry of concrete may not waste after
placing.
 Before using formwork should be free of
dust, clay and other impurities.
 For placing concrete to appropriate
depth the thickness of formwork should
be from 1 to 2 inches with a length of 10
feet. Figure 8: Fixing form work.
 The depth of wooden block should the
same as the slab thickness.
 Afer 24 hours the formwork should be
displaced and shifted to other section
of the pavement.
 Before placing the concrete water
should be sprinkled to the surface of the
ground and should be made wet
especially in summers. The formwork
should be fixed right in vertical position
ar right angle with the ground surface.
 Formwork should be fixed in proper
alignment and two formworks should
not overlap each other to prevent
discontinuity and irregular edges. Photo 7: Improper placement of formwork, having Photo 8: Honey combing due to poor formwork and
negative slope. inappropriate water – cement ratio.
i. Expansion Joints.
 Providing expansion joints is a very
Photo 9: Joint raised above slab
important component in PCC surface and is not extended till
pavement. pavement end.
 The joint should be provided at an
interval of 24 to 30 times the thickness of
pavement.
 Expansion joints should be pulled out
after the setting of concrete.
 The depth of joint should be 1/3 to1/4
times of the slab thickness and minimum
thickness of the joint is 3 mm.
 If the joint is not provided in regular and
equal intervals then cracks may
develop in the surface of concrete due
to unequal distribution of load. Photo 10: In larger slabs,
longitudinal as well as transverse
 It must be straight and vertically inserted
joints are provided.
with a thin wooden strip.
 The joint should be on the same level of
the slab and concave or convex joint
should be discouraged.
 The longitudinal joint should be
provided if the width of the road is
greater than 15 ft.
 All the joints should be provided
vertically at a right angle.
j. Water Curing.
 This is final and the most important
activity in PCC pavement.
 After finishing operation of the surface Photo 12: Water curing with
of pavement it is left to dry, The time of the help of sand banks.
concrete finishing and curing mainly
depends upon the temperature.
 In summers the time is less and in winters
it is more.
 Normally a field test is done for it that if
the concrete surface is scratched with
nail and white line is visible then curing
should be started.
 Curing of pavement should be done for
28 days and if there is water issue then
minimum duration for curing is 14 days. Photo 11: Inadequate
water curing.
 The simple method of curing of
pavement is that HDPE pipe should be
laid upon it perforated in the equal
interval and if water is left in it, it will be
sprinkled in all the direction and cured
automatically throughout the day.
Water is also flooded by making
different segments of the pavement
with the help of sand.

2. Drainage System & Cross Drainage Works:

Runoff or effluent is conveyed along the road and then crossed where possible and disposed off. The structure proposed to convey water in the
side of the road is called drainage system and the one to take it across is called cross drainage works. Normally concrete drain of different shapes
(rectangular, trapezoidal semicircular and circular) are constructed at side of the road to convey water. Drop structures (steps) are provided if
the slope is steep. Sometimes to reduce the initial and recurring cost, a ditch slightly drifted down from road surface supported by a small breast
wall can also be constructed where there is continuous rainfall with a mountainous terrain and where chance of falling clay/debris is more. Dry
stone pitching is done in proposed ditches which can easily be cleaned and properly maintained. Slab culverts, pipe culverts, and causeways
are normally provided as cross drainage to allow water from one side of the road to the other side. When discharge is less, culverts are provided
and where road encounters a mild flowing stream spread in a wider space, then causeway is provided.

Figure 13: Side drain with drop structures Figure 14: Trapezoidal Drain Figure 15: Ditch with dry stone pitching

Figure 19: Causeway

Figure 17: Slab Culvert Figure 18: Pipe Culvert
3. Operation & Maintenance (O&M):
 An on-going O&M activity is a mandatory requirement for ensuring long life and operational worthiness of the PCC road.
 Concrete pavement needs more care and maintenance as it undertakes a heavy load of traffic and other mobility.
 PCC repair depends upon the type of damage and distortion.
 Bondage of old cement and new cement is difficult, which needs extra care and diligence.
 Joints and cracks sealing are possible when the width of cracks are less than 1 inch. Before sealing, it is thoroughly cleaned. The crack is sealed
with either cement slurry, silicone or plastic bitumen sealant.
 Partial-depth repairs consist of chipping and removing the deteriorated concrete, its preparation and placement of repair materials. Damaged
part is removed by hammering the surface to a depth of damages. The area is then marked out clearly. The unsound concrete is generally
milled (though chipping is allowed) a minimum of 50 mm (2 inches) and a maximum of the top of the dowel bars or 1/2 of the slab thickness.
The area is cleaned and the patch is then ready for concrete placement. Grout should be applied directly before patching to make a firm
bond with the edges of old and new concrete.
 The full depth repair method the deteriorated area is removed by saw cutting either end and then lifting the slab out. It is recommended to
remove the slab using pick holes and pins to reduce the possibility of spalling off the edge of the remaining concrete. Re-compact the base
material to grade if disturbed. Tie bars or dowel bars are put on each end of the repair by drilling holes and securing the bars with a non-shrink
grout. Sometimes dowel baskets or additional steel is required for the repair.
 Slab replacement is done when there is a huge deterioration. The whole panel is removed and replaced anew.
 Figure 20: Joints/Cracks repair Figure 21: Partial Depth Repair

Figure 22: Full depth repair with dowel bars. Figure 23: Slab replacement