A new concept in pavement structures
Econocrete subbase
WHAT IS ECONOCRETE?
Econocrete is a portland cement concrete made with locally available crusher run, natural or reclaimed aggregate
that does not necessarily meet conventional standards for use in pavements. It is specifically designed to satisfy the
requirements of each application and environment and provide an economical pavement structure through judi-
cious use of materials. It is used for composite pavements, subbases, shoulders, street pavements and parking lots.
he October issue of Con-
T crete Construction report-
ed* on the econocrete pro-
gram, an effort spearheaded
by members of the American Con-
crete Paving Association (AC PA )
and backed by Federal and state
agencies, to make more use of lo-
cally available aggregates in pave-
ment structures. Econocrete mixes
have been designed for use in pave-
ments, shoulders and subbases for
highways, local roads, streets and
airports.
One of the major applications for
econocrete is in subbases, where it
simplifies construction and im-
proves perf o rm a n c e. It eliminates
the need for special construction
equipment because it utilizes the
same mixing and placing equip-
ment normally used to construct
the concrete pavement. It produces
a subbase that is resistant to erosion
and to the attack of deicing salts
during periods of freezing and
thawing.
Performance
The surface erosion of stabilized
subbases on high-traffic highways
has occasionally resulted in faulted
joints in the overlying concrete
pavement.+ This is because fine-
grading of the subbase sometimes
creates a weakened layer at the sur-
* “Econocrete—Something You will Probably See
a Lot More of,” Concrete Construction, October
1975, pages 439-440.
+ Spellman, D.L., Woodstrom, J.H. and Neal,
B.F., “Faulting of Portland Cement Concrete
Pavements,” Highway Research Record 407,
Transportation Research Board.
face which disintegrates under the
action of traffic when there is free
water under the slab. The loosened
material tends to accumulate under
the pavement joints, raising the slab
and causing drop-offs across the
joints. Econocrete subbases are
placed by slipform pavers with au-
tomatic grade control. No finegrad-
ing of the subbase is required and
this eliminates the weakened layer
and subsequent erosion of the sub-
base surface and faulted pavement
joints. The superior resistance of
econocrete subbases to freezing and
thawing and to attack from deicing
salts that have penetrated to the
subbase level is attributable to its
well-distributed air system.
Construction
Concrete paving contractors of-
ten sublet the construction of the
stabilized subbase. This often cre-
ates problems with scheduling and
grade control. It is also likely to be
expensive because of the additional
equipment needed for mixing, plac-
ing and compacting the subbase
material. The paving contractor
who uses econocrete can mix and
place the subbase with his regular
paving equipment and thus main-
tain complete control of the project,
the scheduling and the concrete
yield. The yield is determined by the
elevation of the subbase.
On a paving project with
econocrete subbase the normal
procedure is to control the finegrad-
ing of the soil subgrade electronical-
ly from a stringline. (The subgrade
is the layer below the subbase.) The
econocrete subbase is then placed
by a slipform paver controlling the
grade from the stringline or by ski
attachments sensing the pre p a re d
subgrade. Pavement grade is based
on the subbase surface. Thus each
layer in the pavement structure be-
comes smoother as irregularities in
the preceding layer are ironed out.
Joints are not considered neces-
sary in econocrete subbases. Hair-
line transverse cracks usually devel-
op at intervals of 100 feet (1)++ or
more for normal subbase strengths
of less than 1800 psi(2) at 28 days. To
prevent these cracks from inducing
cracks in the pavement above
them, minimum friction is desir-
able between the two courses. For
this reason the subbase surface is
not textured but is treated with liq-
uid membrane curing compound
not only to retain moisture for cur-
ing but to provide a bond-reducing
film between the subbase and the
pavement.
As it emerges from the slipform
paver econocrete subbase has the
appearance of a concrete slab. For
this reason the uninitiated often ex-
pect it to meet the criteria for pave-
ment concrete. Howe ve r, the sub-
base is intended only to provide
uniform support for the pavement
and not to provide the high
strengths required in the pavement
itself. ACPA recommends 28-day
compressive strengths in the 700-
++ Numbers in parentheses are references to the
metric equivalents listed with this article.

Econocrete subbase is placed by conventional concrete paving
equipment on a South Carolina interstate highway project.
Econocrete subbase looks like concrete pavement on an Illinois highway project.
Dowel baskets for the overlying concrete pavement have been placed in position
in the foreground.
1000 psi(3) range. This range more
than meets subbase re q u i re m e n t s
for strength and durability.
Mix designs
Aggregates used for econocrete
subbases are the same kinds nor-
mally used in aggregate base course
or in cement-treated subbases.
They include crusher run lime-
stones and granites, and mixtures of
sand and gravel. When an aggregate
is proposed for use it is tested in tri-
al mixes to determine the cement
content needed and the workability
and durability achieved.
Crusher run aggregate used in
econocrete subbase has a higher
percentage of fine material passing
the Number 200(4) sieve than aggre-
gate normally used in concrete.
These fines along with entrained air
help produce cohesive, workable
mixes at the relatively low cement
contents used.
Some field applications
One of the first field applications
of econocrete subbase was on an in-
terchange of Interstate Highway 77
near Fort Mill, South Carolina in
March 1974. The single aggregate
used was a crusher run granite well
graded from a 11⁄2-inch(5) maximum
size to about 5 percent passing the
Number 200(4) sieve. The 6-inch-
thick(6) subbase was mixed and
placed with conventional paving
equipment. The overlying 9-inch-
thick(7) pavement of plain concrete
has sawed joints spaced at about 20-
foot(8) intervals.
Crusher run limestone aggregate
of similar gradation has subse-
quently been used in econocrete
subbase for mainline interstate
pavement in South Carolina. The
cement content was 211.5 pounds
per cubic yard.(9)
A project in Illinois was located in
an area where, although sand de-
posits are readily available, coarse
aggregate must be imported from
some distance. For this reason the
percentage of sand was increased to
produce a 50-50 mix of local sand
and imported gravel. The mix was
used in 1974 and 1975 for
econocrete subbase on a 6-mile
project near Kewanee. With 230
pounds of cement per cubic yard (10),
306 pounds of total water per cubic
yard(11) and an air content of about
5.5 percent, the slump of the
econocrete ranged from 1⁄2 to 11⁄2
inches(2) at the job site. Field flexural
strengths averaged about 400 psi(13)
at 7 days, 500 psi(14) at 14 days and
550 psi (15) at 28 days. Co m p re s s i ve
strengths were about 1100 psi (16) at 7
days, 1600 psi(17) at 14 days and 2100
psi(18) at 21 days. These strengths are
considered too high for best econo-
my for a subbase layer.
Due to scheduling and weather
p ro b l e m s, nearly a mile of the 4-
inch-thick econocrete subbase was
exposed to weather throughout one
winter and subjected to traffic by
g ra vel trucks and school buses, and
to snow plowing and the application
of deicing salts. It survived in excel-
lent condition and is now providing
superior support for a new concrete
pavement.
Recently an econocrete subbase
was completed for a new taxiway at
the Shreveport, Louisiana airport. It
is a 6-inch(19) subbase for a 14-inch(20)
pavement. The slipforming was
done in accordance with a supple-
ment to the Federal Aviation Ad-
ministration’s Specification P-304,
“Cement-Treated Subbase.” The
specified 7-day compressive
strength was 700 psi(21) but field-
strength tests averaged over 1000
psi.(20) The subbase contains 273
pounds of cement per cubic yard(23)
with a 50-50 mixture of 11⁄2-inch(5)
gravel and sand. The air content was
approximately 5.5 percent.
Econocrete subbase use extends
even to Panama where it has been
used on an airport project.
The crushing of old pavement for
recycling as aggregate in lean-mix
concrete subbase for highway con-
struction in California was reported
in the October 1975 issue.**
ACPA position
ACPA has issued a publication ++
which reports on several laboratory
and field research programs under-
way or completed concerning all
applications of econocrete. It sum-
m a ri zes programs with a variety of
aggregates conducted by state high-
way departments and other organi-
zations in South Carolina, Georgia,
Florida, Maryland, Illinois, lowa and
California.
** “Old Pavement Recycled into New Subbase,”
Concrete Construction, October 1975, pages
441-442.
++ “Econocrete Report No. 1,” American Con-
crete Paving Association, August 1975, 70 pages.
++++ “Designs Using Econocrete and the Initia-
tion of NEEP Project No. 20—’Experimental Pave-
ment Construction Using Econocrete,”’” Federal
Highway Adminstration Notice N 5080.34, April
23, 1975.
It recommends that the materials for econocrete subbases will be sim-
to be used for subbases should be ilar to those required for cement
proportioned in a testing laborato- treated subbases and that tests for
ry to produce a mix design that can conventional concrete pavements
be readily produced in a central will not be used.
plant and placed with a slipform The notice advises that to obtain
p a ve r. When placed the surface cost effectiveness econocrete sub-
should be given no additional fin- bases of even 4-inch (24) thickness
ishing or texturing and should be should be considered.
cured by liquid membrane curing
compound. Metric equivalents
The use of econocrete in subbas- 1. 30 metres
es and other phases of pavement 2. 12.4 megapascals
construction should conserve mate- 3. 5 to 7 megapascal
rial resources and reduce energy 4. 0.103-millimetre
needs in construction. 5. 38-millimetre
Other applications of econocrete 6. 152-millimetre-thick
will be examined in a future issue. 7. 178-millimetre-thick
FHWA position 8. 6-metre
9. 125.5 kilograms per cubic metre
The Federal Highway Administra-
tion (FHWA) has issued a notice 10. 136 kilograms per cubic metre
concerning econocrete subbases: 11. 182 kilograms per cubic metre
“The use of econocrete subbases in 12. 13 to 38 millimetres
future plans, specifications and esti- 13. 2.76 megapascals
mate submissions is encouraged.” 14. 3.45 megapascals
++ Econocrete subbases are not 15. 3.79 megapascals
considered experimental and FH- 16. 7.58 megapascals
WA field offices are urged to permit 17. 11.03 megapascals
cement treated subbases to be al- 18. 14.47 megapascals
tered so as to conform to an 19. 152-millimetre
econocrete design to allow the use
20. 356-millimetre
of slipform paving in this work.
21. 4.82 megapascals
It is advised that air entrainment,
higher cement contents and higher 22. 6.89 megapascals
water-cement ratios are normally 23. 162 kilograms per cubic metre
required for econocrete than for ce- 24. 102-millimetre
ment treated subbases so that con-
ventional mixing and slipforming PUBLICATION #C760019
pavement operations may be used. Copyright © 1976, The Aberdeen Group
It is expected that test requirements All rights reserved