Title : LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN CONCRETE ROADS: THE WAY AHEAD
Authors : L. R. Kadiyali Chief Executive, L. R. Kadiyali & Associates, New Delhi lrkadiyali@gmail.com
Publication : 23 - 26 October 2013
Volume :
Pages :
Price : 250
Abstract : The invention of portland cement by Aspdin in England in 1824 led to the use of concrete as a superior construction material. The first cement concrete pavement constructed in 1891 in the town of Bellefontaine, Ohio, USA—the town celebrated its centenary in 1991—is still in use [1]. The road is still in place and use after more than 110 years of service! It is reported that by 1925, there were no less than 600 million square metres of concrete pavements in the USA [2]. Westergaard evolved his famous formulae for the calculation of stresses in the concrete slab in 1926. With modifications, the formulae are still in use. Adolph Hitler constructed the German autobahn system, which was 2100 km in length by 1945, with 90 percent of the length constructed in concrete [2]. In India, the 1920s and 1930s witnessed several concrete roads being constructed. The Marine Drive concrete road in Mumbai was built in 1939 and is still in use, though needing rehabilitation. In the post-war period, several countries built concrete roads on routes with heavy traffic. In the USA, nearly 60 per cent of the Inter State Highway was built in concrete