Todd Latorella, executive director at Mo./Kan. Chapter, American Concrete Pavement Association, expresses the need to improve concrete pavement durability by “raising the bar” on the aggregates.
As a representative for the portland cement concrete pavement industry in Kansas and a former Kansas Department of Transportation pavement engineer, I am aware of the factors that influence the performance of pavements, especially concrete, in Topeka and northeast Kansas. As noted in previous articles, there are many factors that influence the long-term performance of concrete pavements in our area — subgrade and subbase preparation, concrete mix design, finishing and curing, jointing, traffic loading, the environment and materials (which include aggregates).
Latorella notes that all these factors can be addressed through proper design, specifications, and construction of the pavement.
