Photo: worldtripphotos.com
The problem of road surface sagging has been around since the invention of tarmac and it has been mainly caused by very heavy big rigs digging into the tarmac on hot days, leaving grooves in its surface.
Apparently, it’s more than just an inconvenience for drivers, as it apparently dents cars’ fuel economy by as much as 3%. This is the equivalent of an extra 273-million barrels of crude oil being wasted every year, at a cost of €12.5- ($15.6-) billion per year. I have personally witnessed a highway crash which was caused by the deep grooves in the road surface, so it has indeed got more than just fuel efficiency connotations to it, as safety is also a key concern.
It would be extremely difficult to re-do countries’ entire road networks in order to re-pave them with better quality non-sag tarmac, as the US alone has over 13.6-million kilometers or 8.5-million lane miles. The best solution would be the repair work done on damaged stretches of road to be done with other standards in mind, so that they would never sag again, thus ensuring the same level of quality year after year.
Story via web.mit.edu
It would be extremely difficult to re-do countries’ entire road networks in order to re-pave them with better quality non-sag tarmac, as the US alone has over 13.6-million kilometers or 8.5-million lane miles. The best solution would be the repair work done on damaged stretches of road to be done with other standards in mind, so that they would never sag again, thus ensuring the same level of quality year after year.
Story via web.mit.edu
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