TechBrief

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 

through partnerships with State 

highway agencies, industry, and 

academia, CPTP’s primary goals 

are to reduce congestion, improve safety, lower costs, improve 

performance, and foster innovation. The program was designed 

to produce user-friendly software, 

procedures, methods, guidelines, 

and other tools for use in materials selection, mixture proportioning, and the design, construction, 

and rehabilitation of concrete 

pavements.

www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/concrete

Precast Concrete Panels for Repair 

and Rehabilitation of Jointed 

Concrete Pavements

This TechBrief discusses the use of precast concrete panels to repair distressed concrete pavements. It presents a brief summary of the development of precast repair 

technology, the results of recent field trials of precast concrete pavement repairs, and 

recommendations for ensuring successful precast repair installation.

Background

Precast pavement technology is an innovative process that can be used to 

meet the need for rapid repair and rehabilitation of asphalt and jointed concrete pavements. Precast pavement systems are fabricated or assembled offsite, transported to the project site, and installed on a prepared foundation 

(existing or regraded). The system components require little or no field curing time to achieve strength before opening to traffic. These systems are 

primarily used for rapid repair and rehabilitation of asphalt and portland cement concrete (PCC) pavements in high-volume-traffic roadways. The precast technology can be used for intermittent repairs or full-scale, continuous 

rehabilitation. 

In intermittent repair of PCC pavement, isolated full-depth repairs at joints 

and cracks or full-panel replacements are conducted using precast concrete 

slab panels. The repairs are typically full-lane width. Key features of this application are precast panel seating and load transfer at joints.

In continuous applications, full-scale, project-level rehabilitation of asphalt 

concrete and PCC pavements is performed using a series of adjoining precast 

concrete panels. 

Precast concrete repairs are an alternative to conventional cast-in-place, 

full-depth concrete repairs, especially in situations where high traffic volumes and consideration of the delay costs to users due to lane closures favor 

rehabilitation solutions that may expedite opening to traffic. Precast panels 

also offer the advantage of being “factory made” in a more controlled environment than cast-in-place repairs, and thus may potentially be more durable and less susceptible to construction and material variability.

FHWA CPTP Initiative

Recognizing the need for effective, rapid rehabilitation methods, the Federal Highway Administration, through its Concrete Pavement Technology 

Program, sponsored the development of precast concrete panel technology 

for full-depth repair of concrete pavements in a study, “Field Trials of Concrete Pavement Product and Process Technology—Precast Concrete System 

for Rapid Repairs,” that resulted in development of design and construction 
CPTPTechBrief

2

guidelines for use of precast concrete slabs for joint 

repair and slab replacement on in-service roads in 

Michigan. This technique was also used by the Ministry of Transport, Ontario, Canada, as part of a demonstration project on use of precast concrete panels. 

This TechBrief provides details of the precast concrete panel system for intermittent repairs of jointed 

concrete pavements that was developed at Michigan 

State University (Buch 2007).

Michigan Field Study

A precast concrete panel repair field study was conducted on I-675 in Zilwaukee, Michigan, and M-25 

in Port Austin, Michigan. I-675 is a principal arterial 

with average annual daily traffic of 1,400 vehicles 

(5 percent trucks), and M-25 is a minor arterial with 

average annual daily traffic of 900 to 4,000 (3 to 

11 percent trucks). At both sites the existing pavement is 225 mm (9 in.) of concrete on a dense-graded aggregate base. The existing slabs on I-675 had 

joints spaced at 21.6 m (71 ft), and the existing slabs 

on M-25 had joints spaced at 30.2 m (99 ft).

Typical Precast Panel Details

The precast concrete panels were fabricated by the 

contractor. The typical concrete mixture used to fabricate the panels is summarized below:

•	 Cement 312 kg/m3

 (526 lbs/yd3)

•	 Water 127 kg/m3

 (212 lbs/yd3)

•	 Fine aggregate 810 kg/m3 (1,366 lbs/yd3)

•	 Coarse aggregate 10,908 kg/m3 (1,838 lbs/yd3)

•	 Air-entraining agents 0.59 ml/kg (0.9 fl oz/cwt)

The average 28-day compressive strength based on 

18 specimens was 30 MPa (4,300 lbf/in2

). All panels were 1.8 m (6 ft) long, 3.7 m (12 ft) wide, and 

250 mm (10 in.) thick. The precast panels were fitted 

with three dowel bars 38 mm (1.5 in.) in diameter, 

450 mm (18 in.) long, and spaced at 300 mm (12 in.) 

on center along each wheelpath. Perimeter steel 

was included to resist handling and transportation 

stresses. Steel mesh (10 mm [0.375 in.] in diameter 

placed at 150-mm [6-in.] intervals and held together 

with 6-mm [0.25-in.] ties) was placed at the panel 

mid depth to resist the potential of early-age cracking. The panels were wet-cured for 7 days using wet 

burlap covers. The 20 precast panels were fabricated 

and stockpiled at the ready-mix concrete supplier’s 

yard. Eight panels were installed at the I-675 site, 

and 12 were installed at the M-25 site. The typical 

joint details are illustrated in figure 1.

The precast panel installation was accomplished 

with the following sequence of on-site activities.

1. Documenting distresses.

2. Identifying and marking repair boundaries.

3. Sawcutting panel boundaries and concrete removal.

4. Initial cleaning of the exposed base.

5. Sawing and jackhammering the dowel slots.

6. Air cleaning and sandblasting the dowel slots.

7. Placing the leveling fill.

8. Installing the precast panel.

9. Adjusting panel elevation to match elevation 

of adjacent panels.

10.Grouting the dowel slots with a high-earlystrength concrete mixture or a proprietary material.

11. Sealing the joints.

Note that placing a leveling fill material (step 7) is not part of the installation process when the precast panel 

grade adjustment is done using highdensity polyurethane (HDP) foam. In 

that case, after cleaning and grading of 

the base, the precast panel is placed, and 

HDP=high-density polyurethane

Figure 1. Schematic cross section of dowel assembly for Michigan field study (Buch 2007). Current practice is to fabricate the precast panels 6 to 13 mm (0.25 to 0.5 in.) thinner than the existing concrete pavement.
CPTPTechBrief

3

the HDP foam is injected (through pre-formed holes 

or drilled holes in the slab) as needed to bring the 

panel to the correct elevation. This method of leveling was used for 6 of the 8 precast panels at the I-675 

site and 10 of the 12 precast panels at the M-25 site. 

The other 2 precast panels at each site were leveled 

with flowable fill. The total time required to install 

the panel was less than 120 minutes. The two most 

time-consuming activities were the preparation of 

the dowel slots and adjustment of the panel elevation with respect to the existing concrete pavement. 

The installation sequence is illustrated in figure 2.

At the I-675 site, all nine panels (eight precast and 

one conventional full-depth repairs) were installed 

in 1 day using a single traffic control operation due 

to the proximity of the areas being repaired. Each 

precast panel required about 2 hours to install. At 

the M-25 site, the 12 precast panels were installed 

over a period of 3 days. The longer total time for 

the repair operation at the M-25 site was due to the 

greater distance between the areas being repaired 

and some delays caused by rain.

Deflection testing after installation of the precast 

panels at both sites indicated acceptably high load 

transfer levels (greater than 70 percent in nearly every case). Two years after installation, all but one 

of the precast panels at the I-675 site were in good 

condition; one panel exhibited premature cracking 

that appeared to be due to dowel misalignment. At 

the M-25 site, all but two of the precast panels were 

in acceptable to good condition; two panels exhibited premature cracking that appeared to be due to 

possible dowel misalignment.

Ontario Study 

In November 2004, the Ministry of Transport Ontario carried out a demonstration project to evaluate 

the use of precast panels for repair of distressed concrete pavements. One of the techniques used was 

the precast panel system developed in Michigan. 

The demonstration was carried out during nighttime along a section of heavily travelled Highway 

427 in Toronto. Three precast panels were used. The 

existing pavement was 230 mm (9 in.) thick, jointed 

plain concrete over a 150-mm (6 in.) cement-treated 

base. The pavement incorporated randomly spaced, 

skewed, transverse joints.

Two of the installed slabs sat slightly higher than 

the adjacent existing concrete surface. This was due 

to the precast panels being slightly thicker than the 

actual thickness of the removed pavement. Deflection testing indicated that the precast panels met the 

minimum load transfer effectiveness of 70 percent. 

Figure 2. Precast panel fabrication and installation sequence in the Michigan field study.
CPTPTechBrief

4

EARLIER APPLICATIONS

As noted above, the use of precast, reinforced concrete panels for pavement repairs during the last decade is innovative; however, much earlier applications of precast technology for emergency repair of 

jointed concrete pavements have been reported.

During the 1960s in Michigan (Simonsen 1972) 

and Virginia (Tyson 1976), jointed reinforced concrete pavements were constructed with panel lengths 

of up to 30.48 m (100 ft) and 18.75 m (61.5 ft), respectively. While a number of factors contributed to 

early deterioration of these pavements, a principal 

mode of failure was transverse joint “blowups” due 

to large seasonal and daily joint movements, loss 

of joint sealing material, intruded incompressible 

fines, and, typically on very hot summer days following an afternoon rain shower, the sudden compressive rupture and upward thrusting of concrete 

at the transverse joint. In these cases, the pavement 

was immediately closed to traffic and required rapid 

emergency repair to restore it to service. Alternative 

full-depth repair methods included asphalt patches, 

very-high-early-strength concrete, and precast reinforced concrete panels.

Some distinguishing characteristics of these earlier precast reinforced concrete panel applications 

are that they were prefabricated and stockpiled for 

use by State department of transportation forces, 

designed without load transfer, and intended for 

temporary service of up to 5 years, which they provided. Subsequently, full-scale rehabilitation or reconstruction of these 1960s pavements was accomplished.

The successful use of precast reinforced concrete 

panels for “temporary” pavement repairs during the 

1970s in Michigan and Virginia is a testament to an 

innovative practice that has found renewed interest 

during the last decade, primarily due to limited work 

windows resulting from increased traffic volumes.

IMPLEMENTATION GUIDELINES

The Michigan method discussed in this techbrief is 

a nonproprietary process and can be used for fulldepth repair as well as full-panel replacement. Based 

on the results of the Michigan and Ontario field trials (Buch 2007, Lane and Kazmierowski 2005) and 

other recent installations of precast pavement repairs, the following practices are recommended for 

concrete pavement repair with precast panels:

1. Panel geometry: The panel size is dictated by 

the area to be repaired.

a. For full-depth repair, it is recommended 

that the panels be standardized as full width by 1.8 m 

(6 ft) long. The panels should be 13 mm (0.5 in.) 

Precast Pavement Industry Initiatives

Parallel to FHWA’s efforts, several organizations in the United States have initiated independent development 

activities to refine precast concrete pavement technologies. These technologies have certain proprietary features 

and require licensing for product use. Privately developed technologies include the following: 

1. The Fort Miller Super Slab system. For information, contact Peter J. Smith (psmith@fmgroup.com) or 

Michael Quaid (mquaid@fmgroup.com). 

2. The Uretek Stitch-in-Time Load Transfer System for Precast Concrete Panels. For information, contact Mike 

Vinton (mike.vinton@uretekusa.com).

3. The Kwik Slab system. For information, contact Malcolm Yee (info@kwikslab.com).

Since about 2001, the Fort Miller system has been used on several production projects (continuous and intermittent) for repair and rehabilitation applications. In continuous application, this system simulates conventional 

jointed plain concrete pavement sections. The Uretek system has also been widely used, according to the developer, for intermittent repairs. This system requires use of expansion joints if a series of adjoining panels is used. 

The Kwik Slab system has been used on a limited basis in Hawaii. This system simulates long jointed reinforced 

concrete pavement sections. In addition to the proprietary precast concrete pavement systems, generic systems 

have also been used and are under development. 
CPTPTechBrief

5

shorter in both dimensions to allow the panel to be 

positioned in the repair area. When repair areas are 

longer, two panels may be used side by side.

b. For full-slab replacement, the precast panel 

should match the slab area to be replaced but be 

shorter by 13 mm (0.5 in.) in both dimensions. 

When repair areas include longer lengths, more 

panels may be used side by side.

2. Panel thickness: Verify the actual thickness of 

the concrete in the area to be repaired. The precast 

panels should be 6 to 13 mm (0.25 to 0.5 in.) thinner than the existing concrete pavement to account 

for variable thickness of the existing pavement. For 

economical repair, it is advantageous if all panels 

are of uniform thickness and dimensions.

3. Load transfer at transverse joints: A load transfer mechanism must be provided at transverse 

joints. Use of four dowel bars per wheelpath is recommended for heavy-truck traffic. Otherwise, three 

dowels per wheelpath may suffice. The following 

techniques may be considered:

a. Dowels embedded in the precast panel and 

slots provided in the existing pavement.

b. Slots provided at the surface in the precast 

panel, dowels inserted, and epoxy grouted in holes 

drilled in the existing pavement.

c. Load transfer devices retrofitted after the 

precast panel is installed. This can be done by coring holes 102 mm (4 in.) in diameter and inserting 

a load transfer device, such as the Double-Vee, in 

the holes.

d. Slots provided at the surface in the precast 

panel and matching slots cut in the existing pavement after the panel is installed. Dowel bars are then 

installed using the dowel bar retrofit technique. 

4. Bedding material:

a. A fast-setting cementitious flowable material placed before installation of the precast panel.

b. A fast-setting polymer-based material injected under the panel after installation of the panel.

c. Grading and compacting the base to the 

desired grade and placing the precast panel directly 

over the prepared base, especially for longer length 

areas. The subsealing technique may be used to ensure proper seating of the panels.

5. Provide an expansion cap at one end of the 

dowel bar to accommodate slab movement due to 

environmental loading and to prevent closing of the 

joint, especially for multilane roadways.

6. Provide expansion material along one of the 

transverse joints to accommodate joint movement 

due to thermal expansion and contraction.

7. Keep the dowel slot width as narrow as possible to reduce construction time and reduce the potential for dowel skewing in the horizontal plane.

8. Take care to saw the repair areas perpendicular to the centerline to avoid skewing of the precast 

repair when it is placed.

9. Multitask during the installation process to reduce construction time, particularly when the areas 

to be repaired are close together.

10. Post-installation activities:

a. Grinding at the transverse joints to ensure 

desired ride level and to remove high spots at joints 

that might chip off later as a result of snow plowing 

operations.

b. Joint sealing, performed as soon as possible 

after installation, along transverse joints as well as 

longitudinal joints.

c. Deflection testing at joints to verify the effectiveness of the load transfer mechanism.

Summary

Precast concrete pavement technology is ready for 

implementation. With respect to intermittent repairs, generic (Michigan method) as well as proprietary systems are available (see sidebar, page 4). 

Performance of the installed panels, though short 

in terms of time, indicates that precast pavement 

systems have the potential for providing rapid repairs that will be durable. The installation of precast pavements has a higher first cost. However, the 

rapid application that minimizes lane closures and 

the long-term durability may easily offset the higher 

initial costs.
CPTPTechBrief

6

References

Buch, N. 2007. Precast Concrete Panel Systems for Full-Depth 

Pavement Repairs: Field Trials. (No. FHWA-HIF-07-019). 

Federal Highway Administration, Washington, DC.

Lane, R., and T. Kazmierowski. 2005. “Use of Innovative 

Pre-Cast Concrete Slab Repair Technology in Canada.” 

Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Concrete 

Pavements, Colorado Springs, CO, August 2005, 

pp. 771–789.

Simonsen, J. E. 1972. Concrete Pavement Joint Repair 

With Pre-cast Slabs, Construction Report. Research project 

668F-102, Research report R-804, Michigan State 

Highway Commission, Lansing. February 1972.

Tyson, S. S. 1976. Full-depth Repair of Jointed PCC 

Pavements Cast-in-place and Precast Procedures. Virginia 

Highway and Transportation Research Council, VHTRC 

76-R44, Charlottesville.

Contact—For information related to precast pavement repairs, please contact the following:

Federal Highway Administration CPTP Implementation Team

Sam Tyson—sam.tyson@dot.gov Shiraz Tayabji, CTLGroup—stayabji@aol.com

Research—This TechBrief was developed by Shiraz Tayabji, Ph.D., P.E., and Kathleen Hall, Ph.D., P.E., as part 

of the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA’s) Concrete Pavement Technology Program Task 65 product 

implementation activity. 

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

being made to the Resource Centers and Divisions. 

Availability—The publication from which this TechBrief was developed, Precast Concrete Panel Systems for 

Full-Depth Pavement Repairs: Field Trials (FHWA Report No. FHWA-HIF-07-019), is available from the National 

Technical Information Service, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161 (www.ntis.gov) and online at 

www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/concrete/pubs/hif07019. A limited number of copies are available from the 

Research and Technology Product Distribution Center, HRTS-03, FHWA, 9701 Philadelphia Court, Unit Q, 

Lanham, MD 20706 (phone: 301-577-0818; fax: 301-577-1421).

Key Words—Concrete pavement, pavement design, concrete pavement distresses, concrete pavement 

rehabilitation, pavement performance, precast concrete panels.

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

interest of information exchange. The TechBrief does not establish policies or regulations, nor does it imply 

FHWA endorsement of the conclusions or recommendations. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the 

contents or their use. 

Quality Assurance Statement—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 its information. FHWA periodically reviews quality 

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

 October 2008 FHWA-IF-09-003

AASHTO Precast Pavement Technology Implementation Group Activities

Recognizing the increasing interest in precast concrete pavement technologies, AASHTO established a Technology 

Implementation Group (TIG) in 2006 to support technology transfer activities related to precast concrete pavements. The mission of this AASHTO TIG is to promote the use of precast concrete panels for paving, pavement rehabilitation, and pavement repairs to transportation agencies and owners nationwide. In June 2008, the AASHTO 

TIG completed work on the following documents: Generic Specification for Precast Concrete Pavement System Approval, 

Guidance and Considerations for the Design of Precast Concrete Pavement Systems, and Generic Specification for Fabricating 

and Constructing Precast Concrete Pavement Systems.