What's So 'Green' About Longer-Lasting Asphalt?

With the increase in sustainable building projects, more attention is being paid to the environmental impact of the materials being used for construction.  Steel, concrete, wood, and non-ferrous metals are all used to create intelligently designed and energy efficient homes, offices, schools and health care facilities.  'Green' building encompasses the entire project, so engineers and architects pay close attention to the built environment outside of the building shell too.   

When the right material for the job is asphalt, consider fiber-reinforcing it with FORTA-FI® high-tensile strength fiber.  Access roads, parking lots, walking/biking trails, and any asphalt installation at a building site can be three-dimensionally reinforced with FORTA-FI®.  Looking to use a porous asphalt or standard mix design for a parking lot? Think FORTA-FI®!  Want a rich, fibrous asphalt mix for an aggregate-base trail?  FORTA-FI® it!  If you want a strong roadway that will give you years of dependable service, consider FORTA-FI® fiber for each pavement section to help resist premature cracking.  It's easy to add FORTA-FI® at the production plant, and no modifications to standard paving practices are necessary at the installation site!  Best of all, only one pound of FORTA-FI® fiber is required to reinforce one ton of asphalt mix! Please visit: www.forta-fi.com for more information.   

So how is longer-lasting asphalt paving material ‘green’?  Think about the service life of an asphalt installation.  Maintaining quality asphalt with patching, crack sealing, and surface treatments are standard procedures for keeping pavements safe and looking good.  These maintenance techniques are still possible when you use a fiber-reinforced asphalt mix to extend the time period before a major milling and resurfacing effort is required.  Lengthening the service life of an asphalt construction project not only saves money for the owner, it is good for the environment in terms of replacement material and production requirements, as well as manpower and equipment needs.  Better performing asphalt needs less overall maintenance and can significantly extend the time period before resurfacing/replacement is needed!

For more about asphalt and the environment, check out the Asphalt Pavement Alliance (www.AsphaltRoads.org), which has information on their website about sustainable pavements and the carbon footprint of asphalt.   Also, the National Asphalt Pavement Association (www.asphaltpavement.org) is a great resource for the latest news on asphalt paving technology and education.