Benefits of Asphalt
Each year the city’s public works department uses asphalt to overlay or resurface approximately 70 lane miles of streets throughout St Joseph. Asphalt pavement, sometimes called blacktop, is a combination of aggregate (stone, sand or gravel) bound together by a small amount of asphalt cement, a product of crude oil.
Traffic is typically permitted on a new asphalt road as soon as the pavement has cooled which is a matter of hours after construction. Asphalt is smooth, quiet, sustainable, perpetual and the most cost-effective material for our roadways. Ninety-four percent of the roads in America are surfaced with asphalt and it’s no surprise why. Asphalt pavements are:
- Safe. Asphalt creates the smoothest surface for driving. Smooth roads allow superior contact with vehicle tires for a safer and more enjoyable ride.
- Cost-effective. Smooth roads are not just safer, they also save money. Reduced wear and tear on vehicles due to fewer bumps in the road brings down vehicle operating costs. Also, increasing a roadway’s smoothness by 25% extends its lifespan which saves taxpayers money.
- Energy efficient. Smooth asphalt roads also reduce rolling resistance which means better fuel economy and reduced carbon dioxide emissions.
- Traveler and business friendly. Asphalt roads can be paved just a lane at a time, minimizing disruption to citizens and reducing congestion through speedy construction processes, saving taxpayers thousands of dollars in user costs.
- Environmentally friendly. Asphalt is the most recycled product in America. The asphalt industry reuses and recycles nearly 100 million tons of asphalt pavement a year, saving taxpayers an estimated $1.8 billion annually. Post-consumer waste such as used tires and shingles can also be reused in new asphalt pavement.