Are American roads concrete?

25 comments

1. No, they’re almost always asphalt

2. Today in America, most of our roadways and streets are paved with asphalt concrete. Asphalt concrete is a simple product in appearance produced primarily by adding asphalt cement to sand and rock.

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3. Usually asphalt

4. Asphalt. But highways are often concrete base with asphalt over it, and things like on ramps and bridges you can often find as concrete.

5. Some are, but most are asphalt.

6. Nope, asphalt.

7. First: “Asphalt Concrete” is a thing.

   Virtually every paved road in the US is “Concrete”… just that most are asphalt concrete.

   Second: “Cement Concrete” (the gray stuff they make sidewalks and patios out of that you’re most likely asking about) is used regularly to make roads… just that it’s not common and mostly freeways/expressways in high traffic areas because the increased cost is worth it to extend the maintenance window.

   edit: Source, commercial construction guy.

8. Although many of our roads and highways are asphalt, more than 60 percent of our interstate highways are concrete. When I travel from the Cincinnati area to Cedar Rapids Iowa (500 miles) almost the entire way is concrete

9. Mostly asphalt. Some concrete rarely brick or cobblestone.

10. Some, but the majority are asphalt.

11. Around me, only the older highways and roads are concrete. Almost everything else is asphalt

12. I’ll add on from other comments if you go to very rural towns in any state you’ll still find roads made of brick or gravel.

13. What most folks call “concrete” is Portland cement concrete. What most folk call “asphalt” is Asphaltic concrete. Anything where an aggregate is bound together by a matrix is a concrete. Rice Krispies treats are technically an edible concrete.

    The advantage of Portland cement concrete is an installation can last several times as long as Asphaltic concrete (and you can pour it around reinforcing steel). But it’s more expensive. The advantage of Asphaltic concrete is the lower cost, speed of construction and it’s largely recyclable. But it needs to be re-paved more frequently.

    And yes, most of our roads are Asphaltic concrete.

14. As other commenters have said, most roads are asphalt. However it’s worth noting that different materials are best suited to different climates so you’ll see that the roads look different state to state. Concrete is more durable but also more expensive, so in areas that get snow and ice and therefore need frequent repairs, asphalt is preferred.

15. Sometimes they start off like that but usually they turn into the lunar surface

16. Pretty much anytime I see a road being rebuilt around me these days, it’s a 12” layer of concrete then asphalt on top (and they’ll go extra thick at the bus stops)..

    the concrete being the foundation then the asphalt as a layer that can be stripped and repaved relatively easily

    When they first do it, you’ll see the old base is a brick road which was then paved over.. they replace the brick with concrete

    Most of the roads across the country do this except it’s a limestone base instead of concrete

    That aside, it’s not rare at all to see a concrete road where concrete is the driving surface

17. Seems I remember Interstate 91 running north/south up through Vermont is mostly cement concrete… *Canadian who travels south on these roads…

18. Most are asphalt unless you come to Houston then it’s almost all concrete for some reason

19. Doesn’t matter. Roads are death.

20. 94% of U.S. roadways are made of asphalt. However some areas do use concrete. Kansas highways use concrete across the state for reasons of practicality. Concrete pavement is known to be more expensive up front, but last longer and is easier to maintain than asphalt. (For instance, filling a pot hole with concrete is really easy and cheap compared to a more complex process with asphalt).

    Concrete is also often not as “smooth” because of the small gaps between sections. Like a sidewalk is not one continuous length like asphalt, instead it’s laid in rectangular lengths. The small gaps between sections laid creates a small bump and slight noise when passing over them at high speed. Overall, it’s pretty negligible once you get used to it.

    So some areas of u.s. like Kansas Highways may have a high prevalence of concrete roads, but over all, 94% are asphalt across the country.

21. No, they’re made of cheese

22. Some are. Concrete is used on a lot of California highways as it is more durable and requires less maintenance. On local roads asphalt is primarily used because it is a lot cheaper.

23. They’re abstract.

24. Most are asphalt, not the grey stuff.

25. As others have said, the majority are asphalt. But in places where durability is more important, you will see more cement concrete.

    In Texas I can tell you that there are *many* miles of road. Highways are usually asphalt, but there are also many roads that are caliche, which is like gravel. There are also dirt roads. In cities like Dallas, there’s a lot of cement, both on busy roads and in neighborhoods.

    But yeah different materials for different circumstances. Just finding statistics for how many miles of road there are is difficult, but it’s in the several hundreds of thousands.