Rational Use of Terminal Anchorages in Portland Cement Concrete Pavements

Portland cement concrete (PCC) pavements have long been thought to expand and push bridge structures, resulting in bridge damage. To protect bridge structures from the expansion of PCC pavements, three terminal systems are currently used in Texas: anchor lug (AL), wide-flange (WF), and expansion joint (EJ) systems. Even though the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) uses all three systems in continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP), the effectiveness of these three systems has not been fully evaluated. This study investigated the parameters affecting the movements of CRCP near bridge terminal areas, whether thermal expansion of CRCP is causing damage to bridge structures, and if it does, which terminal type is most cost-effective. Extensive field evaluations revealed that subbase friction plays an important role, and the movement of CRCP due to temperature variations was not excessive if the subbase friction is adequate, and thus not damaging to the bridge structures. M