tarmac versus concrete
Discussion
If you're being specific, I'd say Scottish roads are loads better - lots of loverly grippy gravel topped traffic free roads up there!
Really, tarmac wins every time - do you not remember what the old M40 used to be like? Noisy as hell and the spray when it rained.....
But I'm sure there are tarmac (type) roads in the UStoo?
Really, tarmac wins every time - do you not remember what the old M40 used to be like? Noisy as hell and the spray when it rained.....
But I'm sure there are tarmac (type) roads in the UStoo?
There are tarmac roads here and they are a lot better - the only nice stretch of road near me is a short piece of highway that is tarmac. A lot depends on where you are, tarmac in Colorado disintegrates pretty quickly due to the weather and the snow ploughs scraping great chunks of it off.
On the whole, roads here tend to be much more poorly designed and engineered than in the UK. When was the last time you came across a road with adverse camber, decreasing radius bends, poor drainage and poorly surfaced? An every day occurance here.
On the whole, roads here tend to be much more poorly designed and engineered than in the UK. When was the last time you came across a road with adverse camber, decreasing radius bends, poor drainage and poorly surfaced? An every day occurance here.
jimmyjimjim said:
On the whole, roads here tend to be much more poorly designed and engineered than in the UK. When was the last time you came across a road with adverse camber, decreasing radius bends, poor drainage and poorly surfaced? An every day occurance here.
Oh believe me, they are bloody terrible here too.Kozy said:
jimmyjimjim said:
On the whole, roads here tend to be much more poorly designed and engineered than in the UK. When was the last time you came across a road with adverse camber, decreasing radius bends, poor drainage and poorly surfaced? An every day occurance here.
Oh believe me, they are bloody terrible here too.I don't know why they bother doing that. It is a cheap and nasty method of road surfacing. What we ought to have is decent quality tarmac that provides a smooth surface with low noise level and reasonable grip.
Best wishes all,
Dave.
FourWheelDrift said:
What about the half-arsed cheap tarmac resurfacing they do over here when they spray the road with hot tar and scatter loose chippings all over it and then let the cars run them in.
That's what they consider to be good tarmac here. As for the Uk, I've spent 30 odd years there, and trust me when I saw the roads there are infinitly better than here in the US.
The first time I came to the US, I drove from NJ to Ohio to visit a friend.
I remember coming up to a sign saying 'the next 10 miles of the NJ turnpike/whatever is the first fully resurfaced section of the turnpike'. Great, I think. Didn't notice any change for 1/2 a mile, then dropped 6 inches where they'd just gone along with a scraper and ripped the entire surface of the road off for 15 miles. Obviously it didn't stay resuraced for very long at all.
Still better than Atlanta, where they consider road repairs to be 'rivet an inch thick steel plate over the hole'.
jimmyjimjim said:
decreasing radius bends,
Ah yes, the first time I hit one of them driving over there i did, for a brief moment, feel like I was the 'Challenger' (although I doubt the tyre squeel i heard was strictly proportionate to the speed i was doing. Another plus for US roads / cars!).Concrete is one of the most economical surfaces to lay, and is very hard wearing.There are 2 types of macro structure... 1) grooved - grooves 'cut' a few mm into the surface and run across the road. 2) Coarse brushed. (Prior to concrete setting, the surface is brushed exposing the aggregate to form a random, rough textured surface. The main problem with concrete is the noise generated between the tyre and road surface.
Asphalt is the most common and is a mixture of bitumen and aggregate. The aggregate can vary in type and size. The aggregate is to decrease the amount of wear and provide a rough macro texture to enhance grip and water dispersal. The grip is further enhanced by the micro texture of the aggregate itself. Typically a surface can be dressed up to 3 times before the surface needs to be cut back completely and re-laid.
I've dealt with many crashes on both types of surface, and it's impressive to see what the 'grip' of each road surface can do to skin and bone. The rough surface can literally wear away hands, arms etc.
btb
Asphalt is the most common and is a mixture of bitumen and aggregate. The aggregate can vary in type and size. The aggregate is to decrease the amount of wear and provide a rough macro texture to enhance grip and water dispersal. The grip is further enhanced by the micro texture of the aggregate itself. Typically a surface can be dressed up to 3 times before the surface needs to be cut back completely and re-laid.
I've dealt with many crashes on both types of surface, and it's impressive to see what the 'grip' of each road surface can do to skin and bone. The rough surface can literally wear away hands, arms etc.
btb
Hot rolled asphalt (HRA) used to be used on roads all over the UK as it was durable, and offered good skid resistance. However, the current DMRB standards state that thin wearing course (TWCS) is to be used as it offers low noise propagation as well as lots of other benefits.
The problem is most Local authorities don’t like TWCS as it wears away too quickly and so they have to replace it more often, so you'll not find it used in many places apart from on the HA network.
Lots of info here if anyone is interested http://www.highwaysmaintenance.com/
The problem is most Local authorities don’t like TWCS as it wears away too quickly and so they have to replace it more often, so you'll not find it used in many places apart from on the HA network.
Lots of info here if anyone is interested http://www.highwaysmaintenance.com/
TomE said:
Lots of info here if anyone is interested http://www.highwaysmaintenance.com/
I think you've summarised things quite nicely there Tom. Thanks anyway. 
te. jimmyjimjim said:
On the whole, roads here tend to be much more poorly designed and engineered than in the UK. When was the last time you came across a road with adverse camber, decreasing radius bends, poor drainage and poorly surfaced? An every day occurance here.
Ah but for well-designed roads we pay $10 a gallon. Pays yer money etc...Yep, for $10 a gallon we get well-designed roads, but with constant roadworks, speed limits, cameras, fines and congestion. Welcome to Europe: over taxed, over regulated and over here.
BoRED S2upid said:
Better get used to concrete because we all know the oil reserves are terribly low and ofcourse tarmac comes from oil.
So does concrete
Quite a sobering thought to look at something like a motorway flyover and imagine it with all the cement still glowing yellow in the kiln...
btb said:
I've dealt with many crashes on both types of surface, and it's impressive to see what the 'grip' of each road surface can do to skin and bone. The rough surface can literally wear away hands, arms etc.
But interestingly, skin becomes much tougher if it is already dead, which is why motorcyclists wear leathers.Pigeon said:
BoRED S2upid said:
Better get used to concrete because we all know the oil reserves are terribly low and ofcourse tarmac comes from oil.
So does concrete Quite a sobering thought to look at something like a motorway flyover and imagine it with all the cement still glowing yellow in the kiln...
btb said:
I've dealt with many crashes on both types of surface, and it's impressive to see what the 'grip' of each road surface can do to skin and bone. The rough surface can literally wear away hands, arms etc.
But interestingly, skin becomes much tougher if it is already dead, which is why motorcyclists wear leathers.Gassing Station | The Pie & Piston Archive | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff