Disagreements Faced by Civil Engineers When Paving Roads

I wrote this essay on one of the many discrepancies that civil engineers face, this one happens to be making the decision in what material to use when paving a road. From the rough draft to the final draft I decided to switch around the wording of many of the items, and I also changed the tone which advice I got from the writing center. I was told I lacked detail and to slow down, therefore I went back and made sure everything was clear for the reader while also expanding on the unfinished thoughts. Also while going through I removed all of the restated sentences and phrases. I added in my references page and alphabetized it after learning I needed to in class on Monday.

A civil engineer has many jobs. They design, build, and help maintain houses, roads and bridges, drinking water and energy systems, sea ports and airports, and the infrastructure for a cleaner environment (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015). There are two types of civil engineering roles within the field, consultants and contractors. Consultants mainly focus on design work and normally spend most of their time in the office or working with customers, while contractors are more involved with overseeing the actual construction project and are typically based on-site (Baveystock, 2013). Civil engineers are faced with many tough decisions when designing, building, and testing roads such as deciding which material is best to use.

Many times when people are driving on a road it can be made of one of the two main materials: concrete or asphalt. Both of these products are generally used for driveways, parking lots, and roads, and while they can be used for similar functions, they don't offer the same benefits. But which one is better? Whether is due to money or the environment this will always be a debate. Despite its lower life cycle, believe asphalt is a much better paving material because of its recyclability, cost efficiency, easier maintenance, and turnover time.

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A recent study has shown that "Of the 2.6 million miles of paved roads in the U.S., 94% are surfaced with asphalt" ("Asphalt vs. concrete: the fight to pave our roads", 2012). This shows that asphalt is a more commonly used material and is also more environmentally friendly than concrete. Asphalt is a paving material made of gravel and other materials bound together with a thick petroleum, while concrete uses cement and water as the glue between sand and crushed rock.

Over time, exposure to the elements causes asphalt to age, become weak and break. This means that roads paved with asphalt must be repaved seasonally (Gammon, 2015). Since asphalt is just made of gravel and other materials it can be recycled and used over again when it becomes worn out. The old asphalt, Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP), is mixed with new asphalt and heated in order to be used again. Asphalt pavement is the most recycled material in the U.S (“The Environmental Impact of Asphalt Plants", 2016).

Secondly, asphalt is superior over concrete due to the cost, asphalt is much cheaper than concrete but does not last as long. It is still cheaper to remove the layer of asphalt and pave a new one than to rebuild the entire road which concrete requires. On average, the cost per square foot for asphalt will run between $2.50 to $4.00. Concrete, on the other hand, can run between $5.00 to $10.00 per square foot for basic installation and can cost more depending on different finishes and detail. Even though concrete last longer asphalt is noticeably cheaper and actually gives you more usefulness for your money.

Furthermore, the climate can often have an affect how the material preforms such as extreme heat or frigid temperatures. During winter conditions there are some disadvantages for concrete. The darker asphalt pavement warms up as sunlight hits the roadway, melting away any snow left behind by plows, also salt used for snow removal also can eat away at concrete. The summer months negatively affect asphalt by making it soft which cause cracks as well, which can result in water seeping in. Water seeping into either material can cause them to crack resulting in the demanding of maintenance.

Equally important, maintenance will be required on each of these to ensure it always looks nice and performs even better. Asphalt is more appealing because companies have the relatively simple equipment that can patch asphalt when maintenance is necessary ("Asphalt vs. Concrete: Not a Black and White Choice - Ayres Associates", 2016). Patching is the method of filling potholes or holey areas in the asphalt pavement. If there are potholes in concrete the simplest way to fix that problem is to fill it with asphalt.

On the other hand, Concrete will eventually crack, since it can't really be repaired you may ultimately have to replace a concrete road before its time if the cracks are too bad. To repair concrete, you would have to cut and remove the old slab and pour an entirely new one with fresh concrete. Time is a major key when choosing a material when building or rebuilding your roadway, it takes new asphalt typically takes 2 to 6 hours while with concrete car traffic can generally enter onto concrete slabs after three days and truck traffic after seven days to dry enough for foot and vehicle traffic.

When construction or rehabilitating a road it will either cause a full or partial road closure, full lane closure is the complete shutdown of a road in either direction while partial is either transferring the traffic to the other side or just shutting down to a single lane. ("Road Closure and Lane Closure - FHWA Work Zone", 2016). Since asphalt roads are a quick process they are mainly done at night with a partial lane closure. Workers close the lane, remove the old layer, apply the new one and open the lane back up in the morning. Concrete rehabilitation projects are very lengthy projects and require full lane closure.

All things considered, the benefits that asphalt gives you are just a tad bit superior over concrete. Asphalt is used more and environmentally friendly and weather resistant than concrete. Also, asphalt is cost effective and requires less manpower. Moreover, it takes less time to repair an asphalt road whereas when repairing concrete would require a whole slab of concrete. Concrete is not a bad choice although it is more sensible to use asphalt. Thedecision a civil engineer has to make of choosing asphalt over concrete may not be an easy choice, but things that are worth doing aren't easy.

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