Tuesday 21 January 2014

Benefits Of Using Asphalt As A Paving Material

By Marcie Raymond


Numerous materials exist for paving roads and driveways such as concrete, asphalt among other materials. These two mentioned are the commonly used materials and can be found on rural, urban and suburban roads or driveways. Asphalt is however most preferred by many people due to its many benefits. From this article, people are going to learn the many reasons why asphalt is mostly used to pave roads.

One of the reasons why contractors prefer asphalt is using it makes the work shorter time to be completed. In many cases, one day or two days is enough to finish construction. On top of this, the laid surface hardens faster than it would normally do if concrete or any other substance was used. The surface can take 2 to 4 days to dry especially in cold weather and it can be used after that.

This material is also less likely to crack as compared to concrete. Cracking is usually a big issue for contractors making these driveways and roads. When concrete is used, there will need to be central joints to prevent the surface from cracking. However, with asphalt, it is highly flexible and thus a surface is unlikely to crack.

The other benefit is that tarmac is totally recyclable. Therefore after being used in a place, it can be taken, recycled and still used in another area. This aspect ensures that those resources that are not renewable are protected since they will not be used up. The other benefit of this substance is the fact that it does not crumble which is not the case with concrete especially when the construction process was not done well.

Maintenance is an important aspect when it comes to drive ways and even roads. It ensures that the surfaces have an increased lifespan. This task is therefore made easier when this material is used in construction as compared to other products. This is because it is easier to open the surface, do the repairs and then replace it back with minimal disturbance to the traffic.

Another benefit of this material is it is cost efficient. As many people might be aware, cost is usually an important aspect in any project be it small or big. Therefore such people might be happy to know that asphalt is cheaper than concrete, therefore when used, it lowers significantly the cost of the project ensuring that a person operates within his budget.

Skid resistance level is high when the fore mentioned product is utilized and this reduces the number of accidents that might happen in bad weather conditions. Thus in the end, road safety is maintained. The other advantage is that there is reduced noise inside a car and outside when riding on tarmac surfaces.

These reasons among many other is what has made asphalt used more by paving contractors as compared to other existing materials. Producers are keeping up to date with their improvements ensuring that the product remains relevant and in use for a long time. But persons must always keep in mind that even though the cost of using this substance is lower, its repair can be increased when a surface is neglected or not properly maintained.




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