Madigan, > On a related note, what happened to concrete roads? > Why are roads all asphalt now? Isn't concrete more > environmentally friendly?
It depends. Roads are not "all asphalt" now. New freeways are still built with concrete, although they are sometimes repaired with asphalt. In conditions where more flex is needed in a road surface, asphalt is preferred. It is also preferred when initial cost is more important than lifetime cost. Otherwise you'll tend to still see concrete used. One other problem is that large amounts of our concrete are going to China. It has become significantly more expensive than it used to be. In fact, I'll make a guess that other paving materials are being tested because both asphalt and concrete are becoming expensive enough that alternatives should be considered wherever possible. We are on the edge of a new paradigm where we won't be able to build as cheaply as we once could, and we may have to stop throwing away buildings and build outward from cities as we have been. The time may have arrived where houses will need to stand for hundreds of years instead of decades, and roads could need to last for centuries. Europe is there already, and has been for some time. Maybe now it is our turn, now that we are no longer as young a country as we once were. Kristyne _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[EMAIL PROTECTED] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
