18 Concrete roads

Considered as historic artefacts, concrete roads lack much of the visual appeal of other concrete structures such as dams and bridges. Nevertheless, concrete roads are a part of our civil engineering heritage and have an interesting history which is worth studying in its own right. This chapter deals with the history of concrete roads from earliest times to the present day, but before dealing with their history a basic description of the structure and composition of concrete roads, including some definitions and explanations of the technical terms used, will be given so that the reader may understand the descriptions that follow.

• Synopsis

• Structure and composition

• Precursors of concrete roads

• Modern history of concrete roads

• Examples of historic concrete roads

• The future

• Acknowledgement

• References