Fast Facts About Asphalt Pavement

• The term “Perpetual Pavement” refers to a Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) pavement design that can be expected to last indefinitely without signs of structural failure.
• Recent developments, including the Superpave system and Stone Matrix Asphalt designs, have improved the performance of HMA pavements, in particular by extending pavement surface life and eliminating rutting.
• Emissions from HMA facilities are very low and well controlled, leading the EPA to declare that no single facility has the potential to be a major source of hazardous air pollutants.
• Every year, more than 73 million tons of asphalt pavement removed from the nation’s roads are reused, which makes it America’s most recycled product by an impressive margin.
• The lower cost of HMA pavement translates into better value, too. In almost every case, it is less expensive to build and rehabilitate pavements with HMA.
• Asphalt has a wide variety of uses, including busy interstate highways, local roads, parking lots, public jogging trails, and bicycle paths. In addition, water reservoirs and fish hatchery ponds are often lined with asphalt.
• Perpetual Pavements are right for both low- and high-traffic roads and airports because they offer long life under any traffic, infrequent maintenance, a smooth ride, 100% recyclability, and reduced noise levels.
• The surface of an asphalt pavement is generally much smoother than concrete. Smooth pavements save fuel, reduce fatig7ue and produce less noise. A report by a non-profit group, The Road Information Program (TRIP), has shown that rougher roads result in higher vehicle maintenance costs by a factor of 10.
• Production of HMA is known to be environmentally friendly. Although production has more than doubled over the last 50 years, emissions from asphalt plants have been reduced by 97%.
• You can drive on a new asphalt pavement the same day it has been placed. Concrete, on the other hand, generally takes much more time to cure before you can allow any amount of automobile or truck traffic on it.
• Use of an Open Graded Friction Course (OGFC) design can result in an immediate reduction of noise emissions of 3 to 5 decibels on high-speed roadway, which is the equivalent of a 50% reduction in the noise level.
• A recent study of pavement rehabilitation projects documented that the cost to rehabilitate concrete pavement was two to three times more expensive than for asphalt pavement.
• HMA pavements can be built and maintained fast, thereby minimizing traffic delays and long-term lane closures. HMA pavements can also be built and maintained at night and opened again in time for rush hour the next morning.