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Paving with asphalt offers a variety of potential benefits, from cost-effectiveness, flexibility, and durability, to increased comfort and noise reduction, just to name a few. It is also the most environmentally-friendly surfacing material because it is so reusable. In fact, asphalt could be as much as 100% recyclable.
Even with proper maintenance, preservation, repairs, and resurfacing, asphalt will eventually suffer some amount of deterioration from the wear and tear of usage and the elements. When it comes time to replace your asphalt, you’ll be happy to know that there are several processes designed to ensure low cost, speedy service, and eco-friendly benefits.
What are milling, pulverizing, and stabilizing? What benefits do these processes offer? Here’s what you need to know about these popular processes in asphalt replacement.
Milling
The first step in recycling asphalt and replacing pavement is removing old asphalt that is beyond repair, and this could be done through either milling or pulverizing. While the two processes are similar, milling is intended to remove a portion of the asphalt surface so that it can be hauled away for reuse, while pulverizing breaks up old asphalt but essentially leaves it in place for immediate reuse.
In order to move forward with milling, specialized equipment is necessary, namely a cold planer. This piece of heavy equipment is designed to slowly traverse the road surface while pulling a heavy, spike-laden drumhead. This wheel of destruction punctures existing asphalt, tears it up, and collects it so that it can be loaded onto waiting trucks to be carted off to a plant and mixed in with new asphalt.
The important thing to know about the milling process is that only the top layer of asphalt is removed. With lower layers of roadwork intact, all that remains is to install a layer of asphalt to create a smooth, new surface. This process helps to save time and money when replacing asphalt, while still allowing for eco-friendly recycling of old road surface materials.
One good reason to choose milling over other types of paving or repaving is if the road surface has gained elevation over the years, as with repeated repaving. If you want to lower the height of the road surface during replacement, milling is the perfect way to do so.
Pulverizing
As noted above, pulverizing is similar to milling, insomuch as existing asphalt is pulverized, or broken up, using heavy machinery. However, the remains are left in place rather than being collected and hauled away. The remaining bits of asphalt can then be reformed to create a smooth surface once again. How is this accomplished? The next step is called stabilization.
Stabilization
The pulverized remains of an asphalt surface are hardly ideal for driving or parking on, which is why stabilization is necessary. This process entails adding tar and other binding materials to the broken remains of the previous pavement. These substances must be compatible with existing materials, so asphalt emulsions used for stabilization can vary. Once the surface has hardened, the roadway will be as good as new, and often, using this method can make for more efficient and cost-effective asphalt replacement.
