A Finer Surface LLc

One of the fathers of modern pavements was Thomas Telford, a Scottish building mason. His engineering techniques and designs for road construction eventually became the norm and form the basis for modern roads today.

A pothole is the natural result of environmental conditions, particularly in areas where the roadway freezes and expands, causing cracks. When combined with the wear and tear caused by vehicles, a pothole can form.

It is extremely important that any cracking in your asphalt surface be addressed as soon as possible. Once water is allowed to enter the foundation, the structure will begin to erode, resulting in extensive and costly damage.

Repairing cracks and holes is an important step in maintaining your asphalt surface. This essentially prevents water from getting into the gravel base/foundation, which can weaken the structural support.

Asphalt's most common use is as a road paver. However, asphalt is also used to pave running tracks, airport runways, greenway trails, bicycle and golf cart paths, and basketball and tennis courts.

One of the most commonly performed highway maintenance operations in asphalt concrete pavements is pothole repair. Patching techniques include throw-and-roll, edge seal, semi-permanent, and spray injection.

Hot mix asphalt (HMA) is transported to the paving site in trucks that keep it heated and pliable. Once it is dumped at the site, the asphalt must be compacted by a heavy roller within minutes, before it cools and hardens.

Did you know that although Roman roads had used basic lime cements to hold large stones together, roads of the late 1700s and early 1800s didn't use a binder material? Rather, they relied on aggregate interlock to provide cohesion and strength.

Sealing your asphalt driveway with a coal tar emulsion product can help protect it from oil, gasoline, and transmission fluid. However, a newly paved driveway needs to cure for at least 3 months before applying a sealer.

In 1595, on his third voyage to Trinidad, Sir Walter Raleigh discovered a massive asphalt lake. The asphalt from Lake Trinidad would later be used to pave a number of roads in the U.S., including Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C.

The first named highway to run across the United States was the Lincoln Highway, which ran from Times Square in New York to Lincoln Park in San Francisco. Formally dedicated on October 31, 1913, the Lincoln Highway was 3,389 miles long.