Bound Block Pavement with Drainage Concrete Base Course in Urban Roads: A Long-Term Engineering Case Study and Practical Implications for Transport Infrastructure

Bound Block Pavement with Drainage Concrete Base Course in Urban Roads: A Long-Term Engineering Case Study and Practical Implications for Transport Infrastructure | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Bound Block Pavement with Drainage Concrete Base Course in Urban Roads: A Long-Term Engineering Case Study and Practical Implications for Transport Infrastructure Kerim Hrapović This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9023230/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This paper presents a documented long-term engineering case study of a bound block pavement constructed with a drainage concrete base course in an urban traffic area in Austria. The investigated pavement consists of concrete block paving supported by a 200 mm open-graded drainage concrete base designed for load class LK 0.1. The study describes the structural configuration, materials, and construction execution, including mechanized placement, compaction, and curing of the base layer as well as joint detailing of the paving system. A semi-quantitative field condition assessment conducted approximately 18 years after construction indicates stable long-term structural performance with no visible settlement or cracking and only minor local rutting without structural relevance. The observations are interpreted in relation to construction practice, boundary conditions, and real traffic exposure. Although based on a single infrastructure project and without instrumented monitoring, the study provides practice-oriented engineering evidence and transferable insights into durability mechanisms, execution-related performance factors, and design considerations for bound block pavement systems in urban transport infrastructure. Civil Engineering bound block pavement concrete block paving construction execution drainage concrete long-term performance urban road construction Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9023230","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":600182938,"identity":"85b7357e-804e-481e-8471-a29e7d645990","order_by":0,"name":"Kerim Hrapović","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABFElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACCSA+wNgA4RxgMGCT4wexEgqI1lLBZywJ4iQY4NfCANPCwHBGLtHgAIiBR4tke+/DQzd33JM3Z+8xPPCzzSzB+PzqxA8PDBjk+cUOYNUizXPc4HDumWLDnT1nDA72tqXlmd14u1kC6DDDmbMTsGqRk0hjOJzblsC44UZawmHGtmPFZjfObgBpSTC4jUOL/DOwFnuolv+Jm2ec3fwDnxZpCTawlsQNN5IPHGY4w5a4gb93G15bJHsgDkve2XP4wMGeCjZjiRu82ywSDCRw+kXi+DHmz0AtttvZG5s//ABFZf/ZzTd/VNjI80tj1wIHiIiQAKuUwK8cVQv/AcKqR8EoGAWjYEQBAJsjaPo3hPlHAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7720-0508","institution":"Independent Researcher","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kerim","middleName":"","lastName":"Hrapović","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-03 19:09:39","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9023230/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9023230/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eBound Block Pavement with Drainage Concrete Base Course in Urban Roads: A Long-Term Engineering Case Study and Practical Implications for Transport Infrastructure\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"No institution","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"bound block pavement, concrete block paving, construction execution, drainage concrete, long-term performance, urban road construction ","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9023230/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9023230/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis paper presents a documented long-term engineering case study of a bound block pavement constructed with a drainage concrete base course in an urban traffic area in Austria. The investigated pavement consists of concrete block paving supported by a 200 mm open-graded drainage concrete base designed for load class LK 0.1. The study describes the structural configuration, materials, and construction execution, including mechanized placement, compaction, and curing of the base layer as well as joint detailing of the paving system.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA semi-quantitative field condition assessment conducted approximately 18 years after construction indicates stable long-term structural performance with no visible settlement or cracking and only minor local rutting without structural relevance. 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