Comparative studies of concrete versus bituminous pavement

Objectives
The objective of this lecture is to present a comparison between the concrete pavements and the
bituminous pavements.
The basic structures of the concrete (rigid) pavement and bituminous (flexible) pavement have been
presented in the lecture entitled "basic concepts of pavement analysis and design. In USA about 94% of the
surfaced roads are made up of bituminous surfacing (NAPA 2005). In Canada, Qubec has the greatest
number of kilometers of concrete pavement, which is estimated as 4% of the total road length (CAC 2005a).
The famous Autobahn roads in Germany were made up of concrete pavements (TFHRC 2001, FHWA 2005).
In India, existing roads are mostly bituminous, some concrete roads were built during 1920s and 30s. The
concrete road in Hyderabad, Chandni Chowk (Delhi) and Marine Drive (Bombay) were built in 1928, 1936 and
1939 respectively (Jain 2003, Jain and Sharma 1995). The pavement construction of 56 km Delhi-Mathura
road was a major modern concrete road construction project (Jain and Sharma 1995) completed in 1997
(HRB 2005). The Mumbai-Pune expressway (concrete pavement) was opened to traffic in 2002 (HRB 2005).
A number of concrete pavement stretches are being constructed in India in recent times.
The concrete and bituminous pavements have their individual advantages and disadvantages. These have
been discussed in the following
Is concrete pavement better than bituminous pavement ?
Yes. The heavy truck movement shows substantial fuel saving (ranging from 6 to 20% for different
studies) while plying on the concrete road compared to asphalt road (CAC 2005b). It is postulated that
since bituminous pavement undergoes deflection due to application of load, some energy is absorbed
for deflecting the pavement, which otherwise could have been utilized to propel the vehicle (Zaniewski
1989) - thus there is a saving in concrete pavement.
Yes. The concrete pavement virtually does not show any rutting. Therefore, driving on concrete
pavement remains comfortable almost throughout the design period(CAC 2005a).
Yes. The performance of the concrete pavement remains unaffected during the freeze-thaw condition
compared to normal weather conditions. Therefore, no weight carrying restriction needs to be imposed
during the freeze-thaw season - for those countries/ regions wherever it occurs (CAC 2005a).
Yes. Concrete provides better and durable skid resistance. It is generally less slippery in wet weather
than bituminous pavement (CPAM 2005).
Yes. The longevity of the concrete pavement is high (it is generally designed for 30 to 40 years).
Unless there is design failure, the concrete pavement virtually does not require any maintenance. Only
re-texturing of the top surface may have to be done routinely.
Yes. The concrete pavement renders improved visibility conditions during night time, because of its
better light reflecting characteristics than bituminous pavement (CAC 2005a). It as well offers a better
visibility on rainy nights (CPAM 2005).
Yes. Concrete does not release odourous petroleum products to the air as that of bitumen (CPAM
2005).
Yes. It reflects major part of the sunlight, and therefore does not result into 'heat island' effect as
observed in cities where bituminous roads are predominant (CPAM 2005).
Yes. Considering Indian context, India is self-sufficient in cement manufacturing. Bitumen, on the other
hand, is obtained from crude petroleum, bulk amount of which is imported (CMA 2001).

Is bituminous pavement better than concrete pavement ?
Yes. A well designed and well maintained bituminous pavement lasts for many years. There
are instances where bituminous pavements are performing extremely well for 25 to 35 years
without any rehabilitation (NAPA 2005, APA 2005b). With the development of the concept
of perpetual bituminous pavement , it is possible to design bituminous pavement which will
survive for fifty years or more with minor maintenance (Monismith et al. 2001, Newcomb et al.
2001, Von Quintus 2001).
Yes. The bituminous pavement is joint-less, and therefore provides a smooth ride surface

(APA 2005b).
Yes. Not only the initial investment for bituminous pavement construction is less than concrete
pavement, studies show that the overall life cycle cost of bituminous pavement is also low
(Eurobitumen 2005, APA 2005a). However, there are some studies which have found it
otherwise (Ohio 2005).
Yes. The failure of bituminous pavement is gradual, whereas failure in concrete pavement
could be sudden.
Yes. The bituminous pavement repair is quick, and curing time is less and therefore can be
opened to traffic soon (APA 2005a).
Yes. It allows stage construction (APAI 2005, APA 2005a). Pavement design with stage
construction becomes quite useful when, there is a fund constraint, or, the traffic on a new
pavement could not be estimated reliably (Das and Pandey 1999).
Yes. Asphalt is 100% recyclable. It is the most recycled material in the construction industry in
various countries (APA 2005c, Holtz and Eighmy 2000, Ikeda and Kimura 1997 ). Recyclibility
of asphalt, along with various inherent advantages of recycling, also prevents undue increase
in the road elevation which otherwise causes drainage and associated problems in urban
roads.
Yes. The bituminous pavement produces less sound than concrete pavement (CAC
2005a, APAI 2005, APA 2005a). The wear and tear to the vehicle tyres are also less from
bituminous pavements compared to concrete pavements (NAPA 2005b).
Yes. Because the bituminous pavements have a greater flexibility of customized design. It can
be designed according to the requirement of permissible noise, surface permeability, heavy
duty traffic, skid, roughness level etc (APA 2005b).
Yes. Bituminous pavements are generally not affected by the de-icing materials (APA 2005b).
Closing remarks
As seen from the above discussions, it can be said that it is not possible to choose (between
bituminous and concrete pavements) which one is the best option. It is also possibly not a good idea
to look for which one is superior to the other. The choice should rather be governed by the project
specific evaluation among these two alternatives, and other possible combinations
Recapitulation

The concrete pavement is advantageous over bituminous pavement because of its fuel saving,
low rutting potential, free-thaw resistance, durable skid resistance, longevity, better night-time
visibility, heat reflecting characteristics etc.
The bituminous pavement is advantageous over concrete pavement because of its joint-less
smooth surface, lesser life cycle cost, possibility of quick repair, provision for stage construction,
bituminous material recyclability, lower noise level from vehicle-tyre interaction etc.