concrete vs aspahlt pavements take your vote

[Shadowsided]

Just wanna know what roads you prefer to drive on.

Well for beginners ashaplt and concrete are two different pavements with different qualities.

Apahalt is made of mineral aggregate mixed with aspahlt binder.There are different ways of making an asphalt road but the most common kinds are hot and warm mix aspahlt.

Aspahalt roads are by nature flexible and not very rigid which is a weakeness for them. Aspahlt can't take heavy loads as well as concrete can and because of this aspahalt will bend in areas where the vehicles drive on.You can feel this by crossing an aspahalt road and feeling the unevenness in the area where vehicles drive over. This is most obvious on aspahalt used on truck routes since trucks are much heavier and bend the roads more.

aspahalt has the following advanatages over concrete

-easier to pave and make intoa smotth road surface
-chep and cost effective
-installation is quick and easy and once compacted you cand rive over it unlike concrete which you have to let dry
-melts snow and ice faster

it has some serious disadvanatges though
-much more maintenance requirements
-much more prone to cracks,potholes,bending,rutting, and breaking apart
-black asphalt is hotter to walk on
-cars are more likely to hydroplane on new aspahalt roads
-less fuel efficiency due to flexibility
-life span of 7-14 years which is maintenance heavy aftera few years

concrete is a mixture of cement,mineral aggregrates,water,sand, and admixtures which can vary.Concrete is what you will more commonly see on bridges on highways comapred to aspahalt. Concrete is a much more rigid surface compared to aspahalt and is becoming more popular for highway construction.

The advantages of concrete roads are

-stronger which allows it to carry much more heavy loads especially with rebar
-much more rigid meaning it doesn't bend or rut.
-a lot less likely to form potholes
-minor cracking over its lifetime
-much longer life span of 20-40 years which requires much less maintenance

disadvantages
-harder to pave into a smooth surface withoutthe use of advanced equipment and careful paving techniques like this
September 2000 Focus - Smoother Roads Playbook: A Winning Strategy for Concrete Pavements
-if not paved very carefully will forms slumps(bumps in paved concrete)
which can give you a bumpy ride
-takes longer to install
-more expensive

concrete roads are highly misunderstood as noisy and bumpy pavements which is the reuslt of outdated equipment and techniques and lax paving which is common on older concrete roads.

[Shamus]

Well,for driving on dry pavement I prefer asphalt by far,tires grip better,car hangs tighter in curves but for wet,nasty,slippery conditions concrete seems to give you a better grip.Here in Michigan like other northern states we get that wonderful road condition known as "black ice" and it seems to form more readily on asphalt surfaces.Asphalt roads don't have much longevity up here thanks to the frosts and incredible weight limits for commercial trucks,even concrete doesn't last very well.urmomma,where did you find those longevity figures?I just wanted to know if that is an average across the country or if they used a few particular states.

[gunnut]

I prefer concrete because the roads near my house are asphalt and are constantly in need of repairs.

However I can see grip being a problem for concrete. There are a lot of corners and turns people take on surface streets. Some cars may have problems with slicker surface. I don't care because I drive a Subaru with all-time AWD.

[Shamus]

I prefer concrete because the roads near my house are asphalt and are constantly in need of repairs.

However I can see grip being a problem for concrete. There are a lot of corners and turns people take on surface streets. Some cars may have problems with slicker surface. I don't care because I drive a Subaru with all-time AWD.

Dude,we have potholes here that would eat your Subaru;)

[gunnut]

I'm spoiled here in one of the richer counties in California. Pot hole means the surface is not glass smooth. If the freeway has fewer than 6 lanes on each side, we're "slummin'."

One reason I try not to go to LA county, streets ain't smooth.

[Shamus]

I'm spoiled here in one of the richer counties in California. Pot hole means the surface is not glass smooth. If the freeway has fewer than 6 lanes on each side, we're "slummin'."

One reason I try not to go to LA county, streets ain't smooth.

In that case,all of Michigan would be "slummin'" for you .

[FibrillatorD]

concrete roads are highly misunderstood as noisy and bumpy pavements which is the reuslt of outdated equipment and techniques and lax paving which is common on older concrete roads.

Does the rhythmic "p-thump, p-thump" still sound by the new concrete paving techniques? Seems it would be unavoidable as long as you're laying concrete down in slabs, each separated by about a 1" gap to allow for expansion/contraction in the fall/spring.

[Big K]

in the name of "road holding" concrete can not compete with asphalt,

and i must add that hydro/aquaplaning is a virtue of concrete not asphalt which have by his nature a porous frame.

please take a look to the German Autobahns...some of them are still in good condition since 1930's

[Shadowsided]

Big K,
Cocnrete roads can carry much heavier loads do to their strength and rigidness.They're preferred for highway construction especially on bridges whereas local roads are usually aspahalt.

Well shameless I get my information froma variety of sources and base my opinions on experience. After experiencing smooth concrete roads on I 380 and learning about newer types of concrete roads and its advanatges I converted over to concrete.The figures are most likely averages.

In addition, concrete roads are also said to provide a longer lasting, smoother and safer ride. Their rigid surface reduces the risk of hydroplaning, seldom potholes and reflects light better than asphalt to improve visibility of the pavement at night. In terms of durability, concrete highways have a strong track record in some of the coldest parts of North America. By design, concrete mixes are tailored to specific applications and exposure conditions, ensuring strength and durability, while proper mix design can eliminate potential salt damage to the concrete surface. Concrete’s advocates also point out that its structural strength allows heavy trucks to be carried throughout the year without weight restrictions, even during the spring thaw.

Concrete roads claim advantages

Cement Association of Canada - Transportation Case Studies


September 2000 Focus - Smoother Roads Playbook: A Winning Strategy for Concrete Pavements

Roughness and pavement noise can be problems with slipformed concrete pavements, and may be worse with precast panel pavements, and the authors address this issue. “It is believed that a smooth enough riding surface can be attained with full-depth panels and occasional diamond grinding, if needed,” they write.

High-Performance Concrete Pavements Come of Age

Even bumpy cocnrete roads look smotth howver if u look ata certain agle you can seen the slumps. If paved very carefully like on I380 and several other bridges i've been on it shouldn't be a problem.

[Shadowsided]

Does the rhythmic "p-thump, p-thump" still sound by the new concrete paving techniques? Seems it would be unavoidable as long as you're laying concrete down in slabs, each separated by about a 1" gap to allow for expansion/contraction in the fall/spring.

Well I usaually hear that when i drive over an expansion joint. It really depends though because the space in between can be filled by a flexible sealant which Ive seen on some highways.

[sappersgt]

If it snows enough you don't notice the bumps and potholes!;)

[Shadowsided]

If it snows enough you don't notice the bumps and potholes!;)

YEa but if you font have 4WD/AWD you're taking a pretty big risk there....
Anyways using concrete saves fuel and reduces our dependance on mid east oil through construction and fuel savings. Longer life span,less maintenance,heavier loads etc... The only real drawback is cost and in the future that should be a thing of the past.

[bonehead]

in the name of "road holding" concrete can not compete with asphalt,

and i must add that hydro/aquaplaning is a virtue of concrete not asphalt which have by his nature a porous frame.

please take a look to the German Autobahns...some of them are still in good condition since 1930's

BULLPUCKY! You are more than welcome to come to the Pacific North West and hydroplane on asphalt all day long.

Not all asphalt is created equal
:)


For a well used road on a solid foundation I pick concrete. Build a good road and move on. Studded tires will wear the road over time. It seems the road crews are always patching and repaving asphalt roads. For lesser used roads on poor ground asphalt brings a good return for the money.

[JAD_333]

It just so happens I just had my driveway paved with concrete. It's not exactly an interstate, but I'll get to that. The reasons I used concrete have been partly covered here: longevity and strength.

The drawbacks of concrete are time and cost. Concrete as we all know gains strength with time and is not fully cured for several years. It is said that the concrete in Hoover Dam is still not fully cured at its thickest parts.

The hardening process is called hydration. The trick is to keep some water in the concrete as long as possible, though it is usually hard enough to walk on in a few hours.

The most common method of retarding hydration is to cover the fresh concrete with burlap and spray it down with water often. Nowadays black plastic works great. For driving purposes about 1 week hydration will do.

As for cost, if we're talking the here and now, portland cement which is the glue of concrete--sand, gravel and water and sometimes a polymer additive being the other ingredients--has skyrocketed in price in the last 2 years. I used to pay $65-75/yard (27 cu.ft) for plant mixed concrete in 2004; now it's $110/yard.

But the real kicker is that concrete roads and driveways have to be reinforced, which takes a huge amount of time and labor. Highways are reinforced with rebar (steel reinforcing rods)ranging from 1/2" to 1" thick, crosshatched at 12" on center in both directions. Also, the rebar used in concrete roads is "green", a special non-corroding type which is 25% more expensive than standard rebar. The cost of steel has also skyrocketed in the last 2 years. For example, a 50lb box of 16d nails that was $18 2-3 years ago is now $34-40.

For driveways you can get away without steel reinforcing by mixing fibremesh into the concrete before it's poured. Fibermesh consists of little hairlike strands of fiberglass that are incredibly effective in strengthening concrete.

Back to highways. In order to lay concrete perfectly level, a large, one-lane wide spreader/finisher is used. These run on a set of temporary rails which are installed these days using lasers to ensure proper level and bank. Getting it right takes time and perfection is essential to eliminating the pthump fili mentioned.

Put all this together--steel reinforcing bars, track setting, labor, and time to cure--and we see why concrete makes for one hell of an expensive highway. Long term it will pay for itself by requiring less maintenance than ashphalt. But what counts when roads budgets are drawn up is miles-of-highway per dollar. Ashphalt beats concrete in that respect hands down.


Anyone for a drive on a good, old fashioned dirt road?:)

[Maxor]

I personally do about 5 miles on a gravel,dirt, mix everyday its not good for over 45 mph but isn't bad either nice traction in the winter ice as well. fairly cheap.... What i don't understand is why the county keeps on putting down ever 3 weeks in the summer about .25 inches of hot tar in front of houses that are close to the road (they say to keep dust down) anyways this mess gets everywhere and ruins a paint job real fast. surface of where they have done this for the past 20+ years is actually something fairly similair to loose cured asphalt.