Concrete Pavement without Transverse Joints

This is a report of observations and operations pertaining to a concrete pavement without the usual transverse joints constructed during the summer of 1949. The project which is on U. S, 31-W is designated as Simpson County, FI-239 (4), and runs from Station 9+11 at the Tennessee State Line to Station 311+40 at the city limits of Franklin (See Fig. 1 for layout). It consists of a 22-foot concrete pavement underlain by 1-1/2-inches of compacted crushed limestone (Size No. 10) for insulation and leveling. The slabs are of air-entrained concrete made with the agent interground in the cement, There is a longitudinal joint at the center which is of metal with 1/2-inch deformed tie bars, but there are no transverse joints except for butt type joints at the end of each run. The paving was completed about the first of July 1949. After this pavement was built it was suggested by the Bureau of Public Roads and the Division of Construction that the Research Laboratory make observation on the general performance of this pavement. Following the first detailed observations and general inspection of the road it was decided that the pattern of crack development and particularly the character of some of the cracks warranted attention from the standpoint of crack sealing methods, Accordingly some experimental installations of crack sealing compound included in conjunction with normal routine maintenance on the road was suggested