Asphalt Driveways and Roads: Today, asphalt is mainly used for paving roads, driveways and patching potholes, 
but it can also be used for various other purposes. The versatility of asphalt makes it an excellent choice for:• Transportation such as roads, railway beds or airport

• Runways, Taxiways
• Parking Lots pavement, residential driveways and walkways
• Recreational uses for playgrounds, bicycle paths, running tracks, 
tennis courts
• Agriculture applications, like barn floors and greenhouse floors
• Buildings and warehouse flooring and roofing
• Industrial uses such as ports, landfill caps, work sites






Did you know:
Asphalt is sometimes referred to as a flexible pavement.

This is due to its ability to largely resist the stress imposed by 
slight settlements of the subgrade without cracking. This is especially important in the Northeast where we have a lot of freezing and thawing below the surface of our asphalt.

What is Asphalt?
Asphalt concrete, also called asphalt, tarmac, pavement or black top, 
is a composite material used in the construction of roadways and 
parking lots. This composite is a mixture of a petroleum byproduct, asphaltic 
bitumen and aggregate materials. In asphalt concrete, the asphaltic 
bitumen acts as a sort of glue that binds the aggregate pieces together.

Aggregates used for asphalt mixtures could be crushed rock, sand, 
gravel or slags. Although the process of paving streets with tar goes backs as far as 
eighth century Baghdad, no real changes in the process came about 
until the 20th century brought the first automobiles to public use.

In 1901, Edgar Purnell Hooley patented a material called tarmacadam 
that would become the precursor of modern asphalt concrete. 

The shortened name of Hooley’s material, tarmac, is often used to 
refer to asphalt concrete despite the fact that modern asphalt 
concrete does not contain tar.

Historically, asphalt concrete has been used for a variety of 
purposes, including bullet-proofing British warships in the early 
1940s.

The asphalt concrete was applied in a thick layer to a steel 
backing plate that was attached to the exterior hull of the ship. This 
use of asphalt concrete was called plastic armor and was quite 
effective at stopping the armor-piercing bullets of the time.

Call on Todd Lyons Paving Inc of Middletown NY for a no obligation 
estimate on your next paving project. (845) 343-7283 or click here.