It may be old but it isn’t out of fashion. The sheer strength of asphalt makes it a highly reliable paving option for private and public use. Need your driveway or parking lot paved? Asphalt is your answer.
Now, it would be a tedious task to single out every advantage choosing asphalt comes with. Supreme Asphalt Maintenance, however, has made you a list of 6 reasons you should choose asphalt over any other alternative as your paving material.
1. Driving is safer on asphalt paving
The last thing you would want is your paving to be skiddy. Thanks to its water managing qualities, asphalt boasts great resistance to skid.
More accidents happen on wet days than on dry days. No, we didn’t just make that up. Excessive surface water is an ever-present threat to drivers across the decades, but not on asphalt (we’ll explain in a moment). Asphalt pavings have micro-gaps between the particles that allow water to rainwater to drain through the surface. While this isn’t a total safety barrier between slippery surfaces and your car on a rainy day, it increases the grip your tires get on the paving.
It isn’t just its anti-slippery surface qualities that make driving on asphalt safer. The contrast between markings on the asphalt and its own colour makes visual identification easier. For context, asphalt is often very dark, while markings are typically white or yellow. This is especially useful in harsher weather conditions that decrease visibility.
The dark colours of asphalt contribute to more than just better visibility of markings; they are less straining on a driver’s eyes. This makes driving with eyes on the road far more comfortable with less glare.
Oh, before we move on to the next point, there is another mild benefit the dark colours of asphalt bring; it makes snow melt faster. Black absorbs heat at a greater rate than most other colours, causing snow to melt quicker. Toss that shovel away!
2. Asphalt is completely recyclable
The well-being of the environment should remain at the heart of all of man’s creations. By choosing asphalt, we leave our planet unscathed for many future generations to thrive.
Every year, the asphalt industry reuses and recycles several million tons of asphalt used in paving. This makes asphalt a sustainable option to continue paving driveways, highways, parking lots and sidewalks.
Recycling asphalt doesn’t degrade its quality in any way. This may come as a surprise to you, but recycled asphalt is actually stronger and more durable. This translates to recycled asphalt pavings lasting much longer than alternatives available in the market.
3. Asphalt is durable
The pain of having to repave your driveway or parking lot can be unbearable. If you’re not a fan of paying for your pavement once every two years, asphalt is the way to go. Asphalt paving lasts about two decades on average. However, you’ll still need to have your asphalt taken care of to extend its lifespan as much as possible (give Supreme Asphalt Maintenance a call to receive support with that).
It is Asphalt’s flexibility that allows it to withstand the crushing weight of heavy vehicles for extended periods of time. Not even the seasons can put a dent on your asphalt paving; asphalt can easily withstand the intense summer heat and freezing cold winters.
4. Asphalt is affordable and easy to install
A main component of asphalt is crude oil, so the volatility of the oil market directly influences asphalt pricing. Despite its price instability, asphalt is always a much more cost-effective option than any other paving material.
Asphalt is also easy to install, cutting the time needed to cure short. You could be driving on your new asphalt paving in just 2-3 days after installation.
5. Asphalt paving has great water drainage properties
Yes, we’re aware that we’ve already touched this topic under ‘Driving is safer on asphalt paving’. However, we didn’t speak about how asphalt can prevent a build-up of water.
Asphalt’s water draining properties can aid in redirecting water to a more suitable place for draining, such as a grassy area. This prevents water from building up underneath the asphalt. Water retention underneath a road can cause heaves to appear.
6. Asphalt helps combat noise pollution
Do your ears hurt? Try asphalt! No, we don’t mean pouring asphalt into your ear canal, we mean paving your driveway or parking lot. Asphalt has sound-absorbing properties, which may help pull the volume a notch down. If you are wondering how effective asphalt is in absorbing sound, roads and motorways paved with asphalt are known to be 50% quieter under the same amount of traffic.
Supreme Asphalt Maintenance
Asphalt paving is unquestionably the superior choice, but nothing lasts forever. A major part of how long your asphalt will last is determined by how well it is maintained. As strong as asphalt is, you do not want to leave a crack alone until it grows into a pothole that needs can be costly to repair. This is where we step in! With over 35 years of experience, Supreme Asphalt continue to provide excellent asphalt maintenance in Truro.