Highway pavement

Claim 1

A highway pavement of the slab-on-grade type designed for smooth ridability over an extended period of time comprising a concrete slab surface layer and a non-freezing low restraint support layer, said surface layer being mounted on said support layer in such a manner as to permit freedom of longitudinal movement toward the longitudinal midpoint of said surface layer whereby said surface layer is mounted for sliding movement over said support layer in response to temperature and moisture changes in the environment thereabout, said surface layer being capable of said sliding movement in the presence of water in the environment thereabout at temperatures below the freezing point of water, said surface layer presenting a riding surface which has generally the same ridability two years after installation thereof as it does at the time of installation, low friction means being between said surface layer and said support layer to facilitate said sliding movement, a layer of sand below said surface layer, said sand layer having a concentrated dose of salt therein to function as anti-freeze means, a plurality of said surface layers disposed end to end with respect to each other, a contraction joint being at each pair of ends, said contraction joint comprising a pair of juxtaposed steel beams, each of said pair of beams being associated with a respective surface layer and extending across the width thereof to provide a steel facing above and below and at the end of each surface layer, an adjustable sealing member tightly spanning the space between said beams to maintain the space sealed from the top side of said surface layers as said beams move toward and away from each other in accordance with the expansion and contraction of said surface layers, at least one post-tensionable tendon being in at least one of said surface layers and extending to one of said beams, anchoring means associated with said one beam for anchoring said tendon after it has been tensioned, a hold-down device extending across said beams, said hold-down device comprising a bar, said beams having holes, said bar being inserted through said holes and spanning said beams, a sleeper slab below said beams, and said bar being mounted to said sleeper slab on each side of said beam.