Asphalt storage pad

Sam Spade wrote:

Grit dog wrote:

Typical concrete pavement design for highways or runways is unreinforced save for tie bars at the longitudinal jts and dowel bars at the cjs.

Wow, I'm amazed. If universally true, that might explain why the pavement needs to be re-done so often (job security).

I can't imagine this being a good thing up north where it freezes hard. Maybe what I have seen was prep for a bridge pour or similar.

You may have seen the approach slab on the land side of a bridge abutment. Those are often reinforced with bars (not mesh) because the abutment is relatively fixed in place at one end while the ground moves slightly with changes in moisture and temperature on the other end. Dowel rods at the land end of the approach slab keep it in vertical alignment with the plain slab next in line.

On topic, it's mostly architects and old guys still putting wire mesh in slab on grade details. Engineers have long concluded that money spent on steel and labor would yield better returns making the concrete a little thicker, properly preparing the base and assuring good contraction joint layout. Some contractors still like the mesh because it's good enough to get a sloppy job through the warranty period (typically a year). Cracking after that due to a poor base is the owner's problem, not his.