Can I find concrete slabs or pile decks in roads?

November 25 2022

Yes, it is possible to find concrete slabs or pile decks in a road construction, with the help of GPR measurements.

Some roads are constructed with a concrete slab below the asphalt (surface course) to improve the strength and stability of the construction and minimize cracking. Piles and pile decks (or plates) are used to ‘ground’ the road structure onto a solid foundation material (such as moraine or bedrock) if the road is constructed over unfavourable geology, like clay, peat or other soft sediment.

It is important to locate areas with this type of construction when roads are rebuilt or when other installations, such as water or sewage lines, need to be installed within an existing road bed.

It is often more difficult to identify the surface of a concrete slab than to actually detect areas with rebars within the concrete (see example below).

The possibility of successfully identifying piles, pile decks or pile plates will depend on the size of the pile head/deck/plate as well as the depth to the same. If the pile head or deck/plate is situated within a clay layer, or similarly conductive material, it might be hard to distinguish.

Can I find concrete slabs or pile decks in roads?

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