From city parking lots to residential driveways, you can find asphalt pavement just about anywhere. Aside from its popularity as a building material, there are many things you probably don’t know about this common building material. The experts at Pro Pave Inc. have rounded up 7 fun facts about asphalt pavement, so keep reading below!
Fun Fact #1: Asphalt is the world’s most recycled product
That’s right! Asphalt is the most recycled product in the world. The National Asphalt Pavement Association touts that over 99% of asphalt material is recycled. Oftentimes, existing asphalt pavement is removed for widening or resurfacing projects, then recycled for reuse in future projects.
Fun Fact #2: Asphalt has many names
There are many ways to refer to asphalt pavement. Pitch, tarmac, blacktop, asphalt concrete,
and asphalt pavement can all be used interchangeably to describe asphalt material.
Fun Fact #3: A Professor invented modern road asphalt
In 1870, Professor Edward J. de Smedt invented modern road asphalt at Columbia University. He was a Belgium immigrant and originally called the material “sheet asphalt pavement.”
Fun Fact #4: Asphalt is on most U.S. roads
There are 2.6 million miles of paved roads in the United States and over 94% of them are surfaced using asphalt. The National Asphalt Pavement Association states there are approximately 18 billion tons of asphalt pavement on America’s roads (and counting!)
Fun Fact #5: Asphalt can reduce noise levels on roads
Highways that are paved in asphalt material can reduce noise levels by up to 5 decibels, which is probably why it’s the preferred material used on road surfaces. It’s preferable to noise walls, which do not reduce noise nearly as much.
Fun Fact #6: Asphalt’s smooth surface helps vehicle efficiency
In addition to reducing noise, asphalt pavement surfaces are smooth, which helps with a vehicle’s fuel consumption. Not only are smoother asphalt roads nicer to drive on, but it helps keep drivers safe and it causes less wear and tear on vehicles.
Fun Fact #7: Even Egyptians used asphalt
That’s right! Bitumen (another common name for asphalt) was used in the first century BC. Ancient Egyptians used asphalt to embalm the dead. Little has been documented of this process, but it’s still a pretty interesting fun fact.
Work With Pro-Pave, Inc.
Pro-Pave, Inc. provides a full range of commercial asphalt paving services for private, commercial, and municipal projects of many types, including K-12 schools, higher education, military, retail, and multi-family residential. Pro-Pave, Inc. has established a reputation as one of the Washington, DC area’s most reliable paving companies. Since 2001, Pro-Pave has provided asphalt paving, concrete paving, and property maintenance services to various customers, including churches, colleges and universities, retailers, HOAs, and more.
We are always up to date on the latest news in paving. To find out more about how we can help you, contact Pro-Pave today. Visit our website, or give us a call at (703) 433-9500.
