The Asphalt Pavement Alliance is responding to recent concerns over the use of asphalt on their web site: http://www.pavegreen.com/

 No doubt the use of concrete as a “green” alternative to asphalt has been increasing.  However they suggest that asphalt has many “green” advantages as a design alternative for the professional engineer.  For example they promote the use of porous asphalt as a stormwater management tool.  They cite the example of the installation at the University of North Carolina. They also site a study that showed “the asphalt industry recycles more than 70 million tons of its own product every year, making it America’s number one recycler. Asphalt recycling saves taxpayers about $1.8 billion a year.”

They also point out that “when concrete pavements reach the end of their useful life, they must undergo expensive, time-consuming rehabilitation or be completely removed and replaced. Asphalt’s answer is a sustainable process called rubblization, in which the concrete pavement is left in place, “rubblized” (fractured), and used as the base for a new pavement.”

The web site also makes the claim that “the production and placement of asphalt pavements consumes less fuel and produces lower levels of greenhouse gases.” They site a recent study that showed that “asphalt pavements require about 20 percent less energy to produce and construct than other pavements. Less fuel consumption means less production of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 6th, 2008 at 10:43 pm and is filed under Civil Engineering. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.