Earlier opening of concrete pavement to traffic without detriment to short- and long-term pavement performance can reduce construction time and improve driver satisfaction. Improving concrete strength estimations in the field and strength gain predictions as well as early age damage modeling are keys to optimizing openings to traffic. To evaluate the estimation of concrete strength, laboratory and field studies were conducted using maturity and ultrasonic tomography. It was found that both methods were efficient and resulted in reasonable concrete strength estimations for in-situ pavements, but ultrasonic tomography was found to have advantages over the maturity method, such as improved correlation and mobility.

A strength gain prediction model was created using both nondestructive methods that combined the benefits of ultrasonic tomography for strength estimation with the predictive ability of the maturity method for future strength development prediction. A mechanistic-based early opening damage analysis procedure incorporating the combined nondestructive testing technique for strength evaluation was developed to predict the effect of early loading on transverse cracking and dowel bar performance for Pennsylvania climatic conditions. A web-based tool was created to facilitate the implementation of this procedure for determining the optimal time when paving projects can be opened to traffic without significant damage.

User cost analysis showed that early opening a pavement to traffic would have significant benefits on urban arterial roadways and a minor effect on freeways.