Asphalt Driveways and Roads
By Todd Lyons Paving In Asphalt Paving On April 1, 2013
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.