Why are most roads made of tarmac and yet some are concrete?
Answers:
concrete is more durable than tarmac , however it is much more expensive and it takes much more time to lay out.
Therefore concrete is rarely used exept for verry heavy duty roads.
concrete used to be used, but no longer.
tarmac stands up to the elements better
concrete gives off more sound from the traffic,tarmac is more muffled
It's a matter of cost and durability
asphaltic concrete is expensive compared to the blacktop/tarmac you ask about. Why some are one way and not the others? Costs and amount of traffic.
Concrete roads are normally Federal funded roads. They use concrete to ensure a long life of the road.
If a state has taken over the road, they normally do not wish to repair concrete so they normally black top over it as a repair.
Straight black top roads are state, city, town roads as these agencies do not have the funds to lay concrete roads.
Also concrete is used on freeways in main travel routes for at least the semi truck lanes.
Though the tarmac doesn't seem to good near where I live at the moment.
Concrete makes a noiser road - M27 between Southampton & Portsmouth is concrete, and noisy with it!
People continue to go back and forth on which one is better.
People that like concrete roads talk about the durability of concrete and say it is less expensive over time.
People that prefer Asphalt say that it is more flexible and is easier to repair.
Both tar and concrete have its distinctive advantages and disadvantages, for example tar can withstand the whether well and has more friction, also tar is a by product of petroleum so it is relatively cheaper. But it has disadvantage that it gets peeled off, if it is not layered properly as per the standards, also heavy loads and heat tend to warp the tar road and make bumps as tar melts in high atmospheric temperature which are present in some of the regions near euqator. These disadvantages can overcome by using concrete for roads, but the biggest henderance in making concrete roads is the cost factor as it needs elaborate reinforcement and proper curing with the right mixture.
HAS ALOT TO DO WITH THE AMOUNT OF TRAFFIC, HEAVE LOADS AND HOW LONG THEY ARE MEANT TO LAST.
well asphalt is alot quiter then concret and it takes less time to put down but the base for allmost all roads are concrete plus the concrete roads you see today are new and even then when it comes time to resurface them it will be done in asphalt plus asphalt is more flex able and less pron to cracking plus asphalt is cheaper then concrete takes less time to put down and is ready for use a few houres after it has been layed down
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