Comments by "ke6gwf - Ben Blackburn" (@ke6gwf) on "Can The U.S. Cement Industry Keep Up With The $1 Trillion Infrastructure Bill?" video.

@LongLiveBruh Metal wouldn't work because of the expansion issues when it's hot or cold, you would need expansion joints that would get gummed up with sand and junk and jam, and then the road would buckle. It also would not give a proper level of traction for safe driving.
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@ritchierich2793 airports also use incredibly thick concrete because the load on plane wheels is very high. And they are frequently out there sealing cracks and patching it, and have to replace it every few years as well.
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@listen1st267 a brick road wouldn't last a week under constant truck traffic. The ancient Roman roads and old brick roads only exist because they have been protected from 40 ton trucks driving over them every day.
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@sthembisomthembu395 we have lots of concrete freeways in the US, and they wear out just the same as asphalt, they just take longer to do it. The thing I don't like about concrete is that it never is as smooth a ride as asphalt, and the older it gets the worse the ride gets. After a few years they have to regrind the surface to reduce the cupping, but it just keeps getting worse as it ages.
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@Rommie26 no. Lol Roads have to support the weight of traffic, handle extreme temperature swings without falling apart or buckling up, and most importantly, provide good traction for cars. Asphalt does all these great, gives the best smooth ride, can be made porous so rain doesn't puddle on it to increase wet traction, and is flexible to allow use on softer sub soils where the road flexes under heavy loads. It is cheap and easy to install, and can have more layers added on top to renew its surface. Concrete is much more expensive and labor intensive to install, and never gives as nice a ride as asphalt, but it lasts a few years longer before full replacement is needed. As concrete ages, it begins warping, which makes the ride worse and worse over the years. There is really no other technology or technique that would survive the conditions and make a safe road surface.
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@listen1st267 a brick road wouldn't last a week under constant truck traffic. The ancient Roman roads and old brick roads only exist because they have been protected from 40 ton trucks driving over them every day.
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