Abstract
The report describes the construction and design of composite pavements as a viable design strategy to use an
asphalt concrete (AC) wearing course as the insulating material and a Portland cement concrete (PCC) structural
layer as the load-carrying material. These pavements are intended for areas with heavy trucks and problem soils to
increase the service life and minimize maintenance. The project focused specifically on thermally insulated
concrete pavements (TICPs) (that is, composite thin AC overlays of new or structurally sound existing PCC
pavements) and developed design and construction guidelines for TICPs. Specific research objectives include
determining behavior of the layers of the TICP system, understanding life-cycle costs and the feasibility of TICPs,
and incorporating the results into design and construction guidelines. Both construction and design guidelines are
considered in light of the construction and performance of TICP test sections at the Minnesota Road Research
project (MnROAD).
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota; Pavement Research Center, University of California