Five year performance of welded wire fabric in bituminous resurfacing

THIS PAPER REPORTS ON PLACEMENT AND PERFORMANCE OF REINFORCED BITUMINOUS CONCRETE RESURFACING OVER AN OLD PORTLAND CEMENT CONCRETE ROADWAY. IN 1955 TWO SECTIONS OF ROAD (IN MASSACHUSETTS) TOTALING THREE MILES IN LENGTH WERE RESURFACED WITH A 3-IN. BITUMINOUS CONCRETE REINFORCED WITH VARIOUS STYLES OF WELDED WIRE FABRIC. THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THIS REINFORCEMENT WAS TO PREVENT REFLECTION CRACKS CAUSED BY UNDERLYING SLAB MOVEMENTS. IN ONE OF THE TEST ROADS THE RESURFACING WAS REINFORCED WITH STRIPS PLACED ABOVE THE SLAB JOINTS ONLY, WHEREAS THE OTHER HAD VARIOUS STYLES OF CONTINUOUS REINFORCEMENT EXTENDING INTO THE SHOULDERS. ALTOGETHER 25 TEST SECTIONS WERE INSTALLED WITH COMPARABLE UNREINFORCED CONTROL SECTIONS. THE METHOD OF PLACING THE REINFORCEMENT WAS SIMPLE AND DID NOT CAUSE MUCH DIFFICULTY. AFTER FIVE YEARS UNDER TRAFFIC AND WEATHERING ALL REINFORCED TEST SECTIONS HAD LOWER CRACKING INDEXES THAN COMPARABLE CONTROLS. THE BEST PERFORMANCE WAS BY 3 X 6, 10/10 WELDED WIRE FABRIC PLACED IN CONTINUOUS ROLLS WHERE TRANSVERSE CRACKING WAS ABOUT ONE-EIGHTH OF THAT FOUND IN THE CONTROL, AND LONGITUDINAL CRACKING WAS NEGILGIBLE. /AUTHOR/