TECHBRIEF The Concrete Pavement 

Road Map

Publication No. FHWA-HRT-05-074

Introduction 

The Concrete Pavement (CP) Road Map is a plan for concrete

pavement research that will guide the investment of research

dollars for the next several years. This TechBrief is a summary

of FHWA-HRT-05-052 Concrete Pavement Road Map Volume I

and FHWA-HRT-05-053 Concrete Pavement Road Map Volume II.

CP Road Map Vision

By 2015, the highway community will have a comprehensive,

integrated, fully functional system of concrete pavement technologies that provides innovative solutions for customer-driven

performance requirements.

Why is The CP Road Map Needed?

For most of the 20th century, the same materials—portland cement, high-quality aggregate, and water—were used in pavement concrete, with only minor refinements. This fairly forgiving formula allowed some variations in subgrade quality,

construction practices, and other variables without sacrificing

pavement performance.

In today's environment, however—with new, sometimes incompatible materials, more demanding production schedules,

and other pressures—the old system for constructing concrete

pavements is not as malleable. 

The CP Road Map gives the highway community an opportunity

to reinvent itself proactively through research.

What is Unique About The CP Road Map?

Comprehensive and strategic—The CP Road Map combines

more than 250 research problem statements into 12 fully integrated, sequential, and cohesive tracks of research.

Innovative—The CP Road Map introduces a new, inclusive,

and far-reaching approach to pavement research. It incorporates a comprehensive, flexible research database to track conducted research and revise or adjust as appropriate.

Stakeholder involvement—The CP Road Map was created by

and intended for the Federal, State, and private concrete paveResearch, Development, and

Technology

Turner-Fairbank Highway 

Research Center

6300 Georgetown Pike

McLean, VA 22101-2296

www.tfhrc.gov

The Concrete Pavement Technology

Program (CPTP) is an integrated,

national effort to improve the long-term

performance and cost-effectiveness of

concrete pavements. Managed by the

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

through partnerships with State highway agencies, industry, and academia,

the CPTP’s primary goals are to reduce

congestion, reduce costs, improve performance, and foster innovation. The

program is designed to produce userfriendly software, procedures, methods,

guidelines, and other tools for use in

materials selection, mix design, pavement design, construction, and rehabilitation of concrete pavements.
2

1. Performance-Based Concrete 

Pavement Mix Design System.

($30-68 M*)

This track will produce a practical yet

innovative concrete mix design procedure with new equipment, consensus

target values, common laboratory procedures, and full integration with both

structural design and field quality 

control—a lab of the future. It also 

lays the groundwork for the concrete

paving industry to assume more responsibility for mix designs as State highway agencies move from method

specifications to more advanced 

acceptance tools.

*All numbers are rounded.

ment community. More than 400 stakeholders

helped develop the plan through many brainstorming sessions, which began in 2001.

No cost or time limitations—The CP Road

Map is a 7- to 10-year plan with an estimated

overall cost of $250 million ($250 M).

Independent of any one agency or pot of

money—Stakeholders with funds and expertise

will pool their resources, jointly conduct and 

coordinate the research, and apply the results.

Inextricably linked to technology transfer—

Development of innovative technology transfer

methods is incorporated into the research

tracks.

Research Tracks

Each of the CP Road Map tracks is a full research

program in itself. Tracks 1 through 9 consist of

timed sequences of research leading to products

that are essential to reaching overall goals. In

every phased track, one subtrack is devoted

specifically to developing innovative technology

transfer, training tools, and methods.

Research in many tracks is linked to related 

research in other tracks. Some critical research

topics—such as pavement maintenance, foundations and drainage, and environmental advancements—are incorporated throughout the tracks.

Making these links and sorting the problem statements through unique queries is possible

through the CP Road Map research database.

The general range of costs associated with each

track represents the time dedicated to the CP

Road Map by multiple stakeholders who contributed to its development. The support needed

for this effort comes from in-kind services and

funding provided by a number of participants 

including industry organizations, State departments of transportation, and Federal agencies.

These estimates are subject to change as the CP

Road Map evolves.

1. Performance-Based Concrete Pavement Mix Design System
2. Performance-Based Design Guide

for New and Rehabilitated Concrete

Pavements. ($41-60 M)

Under this track, the concrete pavement research community will expand

the mechanistic approach to pavement

restoration and preservation strategies. This track builds on the comprehensive work done under the National

Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) 1-37A (creating the

Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design

Guide) and continues to develop the

models from that key work.

3. High-Speed Nondestructive Testing

and Intelligent Construction 

Systems. ($20-41 M)

This track will develop high-speed,

nondestructive quality control systems

to monitor pavement properties continuously during construction. As a result,

instant adjustments can be made to ensure the finished product meets given

performance specifications.

4. Optimized Surface Characteristics

for Safe, Quiet, and Smooth 

Concrete Pavements. ($25-54 M)

This track will improve understanding

of concrete pavement surface characteristics. It will provide tools to help

engineers meet or exceed requirements for friction/safety, pavementtire noise, smoothness, splash and

spray, wheel path wear (hydroplaning), light reflection, rolling resistance, and durability (longevity). The

challenge is to improve one characteristic without compromising another.

3

3. High-Speed Nondestructive Testing and Intelligent Construction Systems

4. Optimized Surface Characteristics for Safe, Quiet, and Smooth Concrete Pavements

2. Performance-Based Design Guide for New and Rehabilitated Concrete Pavements
5. Equipment Automation and 

Advancements. ($26-56 M)

This track will improve process and

technology for high-speed, high-quality

concrete paving equipment. Examples

include the next generation of concrete

batching and placement equipment;

behind-the-paver equipment to improve

curing, surface treatment, and jointing;

mechanized ways to place and control

subdrains and other foundation elements; one-pass construction equipment; and improved repair processes.

6. Innovative Concrete Pavement

Joint Design, Materials, and 

Construction. ($10-15 M)

Potential products for this track include

a new joint design, high-speed computer analysis techniques for joint performance, a more accurate installation

scheme, and faster rehabilitation

strategies. The problem statements in

this track address proposed research

that will help develop breakthrough

technologies and extremely highspeed joint repair techniques.

7. High-Speed Concrete Pavement 

Rehabilitation and Construction.

($10-20 M)

This track addresses a series of activities. Some involve planning and simulation of high-speed construction and

rehabilitation, precast and modular 

options for concrete pavements, and

fast track concrete pavement construction and rehabilitation; others propose

evaluation and technology transfer of

high-speed construction and rehabilitation products and processes developed through research.

4

7. High-Speed Concrete Pavement Rehabilitation and Construction

6. Innovative Concrete Pavement Joint Design, Materials, and Construction

5. Equipment Automation and Advancements
8. Long Life Concrete Pavements.

($11-17 M)

The need for pavements that last

longer between maintenance, restoration, or rehabilitation is integrated

throughout the CP Road Map. However,

this track highlights specific research

that may address pavement life 

approaching 60 years or more.

9. Concrete Pavement Accelerated

Loading and Long-Term Data 

Collection. ($10-16 M)

This track provides the infrastructure—

such as testing methods and data collection and reporting tools—for a future national program that will plan

accelerated loading and long-term

data needs, construct test sections,

and collect and share data.

10. Concrete Pavement Performance.

($3-4 M)

This track addresses key elements of

pavement management and asset

management systems that determine

whether or not and in what manner

pavements meet performance characteristics. Research will address the

functional aspects of concrete pavement performance, particularly surface

characteristics. Research also will provide rapid performance feedback and

examine ways to schedule surface characteristics and condition improvements.

5

8. Long Life Concrete Pavements

9. Concrete Pavement Accelerated Loading and Long-Term Data Collection

10. Concrete Pavement Performance
11. Concrete Pavement Business 

Systems and Economics. ($21-31 M)

Roles and responsibilities are changing in the highway industry, affecting

the way in which paving projects are

designed, bid, built, and maintained.

Contractors are being asked to assume

more control of the operation and

quality control inspections. This track

captures some important research 

regarding topics such as contracting

options, new technology transfer systems, public-private partnerships, and

economic models.

12. Advanced Concrete Pavement 

Materials. ($11-23 M)

The problem statements in this track

aim to develop new materials and 

refine or reintroduce existing advanced

materials to enhance performance, 

improve construction, and reduce

waste. Many existing materials studied

in this track have been used only on a

small scale or in laboratory evaluations. Many of them have not been

used in the United States but show

promise based on work done in other

countries.

6

11. Concrete Pavement Business Systems and Economics

12. Advanced Concrete Pavement Materials

MANAGING THE

RESEARCH

A unique research plan warrants an innovative system for

managing and conducting the

research. The research management plan that accompanies the CP Road Map:

• Relies on a cooperative, triparty executive advisory

committee (Federal, State,

and industry) for general

oversight.

• Is decentralized, recruiting

research track team leaders

to bring stakeholders together voluntarily to pool their resources in win-win partnerships.

• Requires a full-time administrative support group dedicated to supporting research

coordination, conduct, and

implementation. A primary

function of this group is

maintaining and updating

the CP Road Map research

database.
7

Research Management Plan
8

Researchers—This study was performed by D.S. Harrington of Iowa State University’s Center for Portland

Cement Concrete Pavement Technology, Ames, IA; T. Ferragut of TDC Partners, Ltd., Alexandria, VA; 

R. Rasmussen of The Transtec Group, Inc., Austin, TX; and M.I. Darter of Applied Research Associates, Inc.,

ERES Consultants Division, Champaign, IL.

Distribution—This TechBrief is being distributed according to a standard distribution. Direct distribution

is being made to the Divisions and Resource Centers.

Availability—FHWA-HRT-05-052 Concrete Pavement Road Map Volume I and FHWA-HRT-05-053 

Concrete Pavement Road Map Volume II will be available in fall 2005. The reports, this TechBrief, and 

FHWA-HRT-05-047 CP Road Map Executive Summary may be obtained from the FHWA Product Distribution Center by e-mail to report.center@fhwa.dot.gov, by fax to 301–577–1421, or by phone to

301–577–0818.

Key Words—Concrete pavement, concrete mix design, pavement construction, pavement design,

pavement performance, pavement smoothness, equipment automation, accelerated loading, longterm

data collection, nondestructive testing, intelligent construction systems, concrete pavement 

joint design. 

Notice—This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation

in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the use of the 

information contained in this document. The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers’ names appear in this document only because they are considered

essential to the objective of the document.

Quality Assurance Statement—The FHWA provides high-quality information to serve Government,

industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used

to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information. FHWA periodically

reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement.

September 2005 FHWA-HRT-05-074

HRDI-11/09-05(5M)E

HOW CAN YOU

PARTICIPATE?

Beginning a long-term research program is a long, slow

process. In this case, the CP

Road Map provides a framework for moving forward.

Stakeholders in the concrete

pavement community are invited to participate:

• To receive a printed copy 

of the full two-volume 

CP Road Map, with complete

problem statements (available mid-2005), contact Peter

Kopac, FHWA, 202-493-3151, 

peter.kopac@fhwa.dot.gov.

• An electronic version of the

CP Road Map and the twovolume report also will be

available on the FHWA Web

site in mid-2005. Visit

www.tfhrc.gov/.

• For additional information,

visit www.tfhrc.gov and

search for CP Road Map.