Drawing above details how one manufacturer’s slip-form paver operates.
SLIP-FORM PAVING
L ittle more than a decade ago, slip-form paving was a
novelty on the American construction scene.
Spurred by a number of factors—including the need for
lower manpower re q u i re m e n t s, economy, and the
tremendous impetus given to pavement construction
by the Interstate Highway System—slip-form paving
has developed into a widely accepted method of paving.
The economy and speed that can be gained from slip-
form paving have led to its use in 25 states. Undoubted-
ly in the years to come its use will become commonplace
in virtually every state.
Like any new construction technique, slip-form
paving has had its share of problems. Originally the big
stumbling blocks were: (1) slip-form paving was limited
to non-reinforced slabs; (2) it was questionable whether
the technique could conform to surface conformations
and tolerances; and (3) the machines themselves had to
be perfected. Thanks to the inventiveness and coopera-
tion of paving contractors, equipment manufacturers,
and highway departments, a great deal has been done in
these few years to solve such problems.
Primarily, slip-form paving differs from other paving
methods in that fixed side forms are not used. The 10-
to 48-foot long side forms of the slipform paver slide
along with the machine, exposing the slab edges behind
it. Because the concrete is thoroughly vibrated, it does
not slump when the side form support is removed.
Let’s describe a “typical” slip-form job step-by-step.
Actually, no slip-form job is typical because contractors
have their own special techniques and modifications
for machines that make each job virtually unique. How-
ever, the following paragraphs will examine the funda-
mentals of the slip-form technique.
Basic techniques
Depending on the type of slip-form paver used, it can
do the finish grading; spread the concrete over the sub-
grade; vibrate, tamp, strikeoff and shape the concrete to
the desired thickness and surface conformation.
A portable engine-generator unit provides the electri-
cal power for all the operations of the paver. It powers
the crawler tracks that propel the paver at a speed up to
18 feet per minute.
A subgrade appropriate for the type of traffic expected
on the roadway is prepared and string or wire lines are
set from the grade stakes on one or both sides of the
road. With some machines, a form grader (sometimes a
motor blade on sandy subsoils) cuts a path for the tracks
of the fine grader and paver. With other machines the
fine grader and paver may follow the grade wires direct-
ly, adjusting automatically to maintain the proper sub-
grade and slab surface elevations. Some machines use
the guide wires for steering only. Fine grading is then
done with either a subgrade planer on tracks or a self-
Ready mixed concrete trucks can work hand-in-hand with slip-form pavers. Concrete for slip-form paving is no different from
that used for conventional paving. It should be uniform in consistency with an optimum air content.
Usually hand finishing is not required with slip-form paving
but if it does become necessary, the touch-up work can be
handled by finishers with scraping straightedges. Note the
burlap drag on the last truss.
propelled mechanical fine-grading machine. Immedi-
ately before the concreting is to take place the subgrade
is moistened to prevent it from absorbing water from the
concrete.
Concrete used in slip-form paving is the same as that
used in conventional form paving. The concrete should
have a uniform consistency, a slump of about 2 inches
(although concrete of 3 1/2 -inch slump has been suc-
cessfully slipformed), and optimum air content. To
achieve the required cohesiveness, it is sometimes nec-
essary to add additional fine material—particularly the
No. 50-, 100- and 200-sieve material—to achieve the re-
quired cohesiveness. It has also been found advisable to
limit the maximum coarse aggregate size to no more
than 1 1/2 inches. The concrete may be supplied by cen-
tral mixers, traveling mixers, or ready mix trucks. It is
deposited directly in front of the paving machine or into
a hopper box.
The slip-form paver then goes into action. It spreads
the concrete by means of a paddle or dozer-type strike-
off. An adjustable spreader or screed strikes off the con-
crete approximately one inch above the finished height
of the slab. This is followed by vibrators, tampers, and
oscillating bars in various configurations depending on
the make of the paver. After this consolidation of the
concrete, a shoe, extrusion plate, or extrusion meter ex-
tending the complete pavement width creates the cor-
rect surface conformation for the slab. These usually can
be set to form a flat, parabolic, or hip-roof crown. Trans-
verse reciprocating rubber belts, angled pipe or pan
floats or roller screeds minimize the amount of hand fin-
ishing required.
Except near the starting and stopping points, usually
no hand finishing is required, but if some touch-up work
is needed it does not differ materially from that done in
conventional pavement construction. Two finishers with
scraping straightedges or a long, diagonal aluminum
pipe dragged along the surface are sometimes used. A
burlap drag is attached to the last truss spanning the
slab. This gives the concrete its final surface finish. A pig-
mented membrane curing compound is applied imme-
diately after the burlap drag. In time, the usual sawing
and sealing of joints are done.
Slip-form paving projects have included streets with
integral curbs on both sides and pavements up to 48 feet
in width.
Equipment
Every summer seems to produce significant improve-
ments in slip-form equipment. The once seemingly
huge problems of using slip-form methods to build rein-
forced pavement are being solved with astonishing
speed. The first pavement built with conventional dis-
tributed steel using the slipform method was laid in 1958
in Colorado. In 1962 the first continuously reinforced
pavement using the slip-form technique was built in
Rhode Island.
Three commercial slip-form machines are currently
available.
The first of these pavers travels on two 22-foot long
crawler tracks. It performs consolidation and finishing,
vibrating, and tamping and has a 42-inch wide extrusion
plate and an oscillating belt. A variable length trailing
 The slip-formed pavement is
usually cured with white-
pigmented membrane curing
compound. This is sometimes
applied with a self-propelled
spray-curing machine.
form is pulled behind the machine. It has been used to
lay pavement with dowels and distributed steel. It has al-
so been used for continuously reinforced pavement.
The second paver, used so far mainly in California,
A ri zona, New Mexico and Colorado, is electronically
controlled by a wire guide for both line and grade of the
completed pavement. This eliminates the need for trail-
ing forms. It can: (1) place a three-lane, 36-foot wide
pavement in one pass; (2) automatically place the tie
bars; and (3) cut the longitudinal joints.
The third paver, like the second machine, was devel-
oped in California. It rides on four short crawler tracks,
one at each corner of the machine. These are inter-
changeable with bogy wheels for operation on forms as
a spreader-finisher.
Undoubtedly other firms will bring slip-form pavers
onto the market in the near future. One manufacturer
has field tested a slip-form paver with automatic con-
trol of slope and elevation. It also has a fine grader in
front of the machine.
Advantages of slip-form paving
One of the big advantages of slip-form paving is econ-
omy. The reduction in personnel required and the speed
at which the pavement can be laid often add up to con-
siderable savings.
A recent survey made by the U. S. Bureau of Public
Roads reveals some interesting facts regarding the com-
parative labor requirements of paving by the slip-form
method as against paving by conventional-form meth-
ods. On the three slipform paving projects studied, crews
averaged 11 fewer men than the crews on conventional-
form paving jobs. Howe ve r, because the capacity of a
slip-form machine is equal to the output of two dual-
drum pavers (600 square yards per hour), a more valid
comparison would be between slip-form paving and
conventional-form paving using two pavers. Here, the
difference in manpower jumps to a 20-man advantage
for slip-form paving.
In Iowa, where slip-form paving received its baptism,
the lower bids (as low as $28,000 per mile of 6-inch pave-
ment) have made the use of concrete possible for coun-
ty roads. Previously these roads had been paved solely
with asphalt. On the Oklahoma Southwestern Turnpike,
slip-forming reduced costs from 35 to 45 cents below
that of conventionally placed concrete.
The slip-form paving of four-lane, 8-inch Interstate
pavements with central-mixed concrete in Colorado has
run from $2.94 to $3.25 per square yard. Studies of con-
tracts like these indicate that the slip-form technique
can save a contractor from 50 to 75 cents per square
yard.
The smoothness of a slip-form pavement is excellent.
A study of a finished, non-reinforced concrete pavement
placed on a soil-cement subbase in Colorado indicated
an excellent smoothness (80 inches per mile when mea-
sured by the BPR roughometer). In California, slip-form
pavements readily pass the State Highway profilograph
profile index of 7. On a number of projects the job-aver-
age index has been less than 3. The profile index has
even been less than one inch per mile for appreciable
lengths of pavements.
Most of the surface irregularities that occur with slip-
form paving are caused by slumping of the concrete
and/or an interruption of the forward movement of the
slip-form paver. These two factors are determined large-
ly by the consistency of the concrete and the regularity in
its delivery to the paver. And since these factors can be
controlled, there seem to be no major road blocks in the
development of slip-form paving
PUBLICATION #C640385
Copyright © 1964, The Aberdeen Group
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