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2-The History of Asphalt

The history of asphalt dates back thousands of years, with early civilizations like the Mesopotamians, Phoenicians, and Egyptians using it for waterproofing. Its use expanded over time, with the first recorded road construction using asphalt occurring in Babylon in 625 BC. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, asphalt pavement was developed in the United States and innovations continued as automobiles grew in popularity, requiring better roads. Today asphalt remains America's most recycled material and research continues to improve its use through organizations like NCAT.

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57 views2 pages

2-The History of Asphalt

The history of asphalt dates back thousands of years, with early civilizations like the Mesopotamians, Phoenicians, and Egyptians using it for waterproofing. Its use expanded over time, with the first recorded road construction using asphalt occurring in Babylon in 625 BC. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, asphalt pavement was developed in the United States and innovations continued as automobiles grew in popularity, requiring better roads. Today asphalt remains America's most recycled material and research continues to improve its use through organizations like NCAT.

Uploaded by

amani.arfaoui1991
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The History of Asphalt

From beyondRoads.com

The story of asphalt begins thousands of years


before the founding of the United States. Asphalt
occurs naturally in both asphalt lakes and in rock
asphalt (a mixture of sand, limestone and asphalt).

The ancient Mesopotamians used it to waterproof


temple baths and water tanks. The Phoenicians
caulked the seams of their merchant ships with
asphalt. In the days of the Pharaohs, Egyptians used
the material as mortar for rocks laid along the banks
of the Nile to prevent erosion, and the infant Moses'
basket was waterproofed with asphalt.

625 B.C.
The first recorded use of asphalt as a road-building material in Babylon. The ancient Greeks were
also familiar with asphalt. The word asphalt comes from the Greek "asphaltos," meaning "secure."
The Romans used it to seal their baths, reservoirs and aqueducts.

1595
Europeans exploring the New World discovered natural deposits of asphalt. Sir Walter Raleigh
described a "plain" (or lake) of asphalt on the island of Trinidad, near Venezuela. He used it for re-
caulking his ships.

Early 1800s
Thomas Telford built more than 900 miles of roads in Scotland, perfecting the method of building
roads with broken stones. His contemporary, John Loudon McAdam, used broken stone joined to
form a hard surface to build a Scottish turnpike. Later, to reduce dust and maintenance, builders
used hot tar to bond the broken stones together, producing "tarmacadam" pavements.

1870
Belgian chemist Edmund J. DeSmedt laid the first true asphalt pavement in the U.S. in Newark, N.J.
DeSmedt also paved Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. – using 54,000 square yards of
sheet asphalt from Trinidad Lake. The Cummer Company opened the first central hot mix production
facilities in the U.S. The first asphalt patent was filed by Nathan B. Abbott of Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1871.

1900
Frederick J. Warren filed a patent for "Bitulithic" pavement, a mixture of bitumen and aggregate
("bitu" from "bitumen" and "lithic" from "lithos," the Greek word for rock). The first modern asphalt
facility was built in 1901 by Warren Brothers in East Cambridge, Mass.

1907
Production of refined petroleum asphalt outstripped the use of natural asphalt. As automobiles grew
in popularity, the demand for more and better roads led to innovations in both producing and laying
asphalt. Steps toward mechanization included drum mixers and portland cement concrete
mechanical spreaders for the first machine-laid asphalt.
1942
During World War II, asphalt technology greatly improved, spurred by the need of military aircraft for
surfaces that could stand up to heavier loads.

1955
The National Bituminous Concrete Association (forerunner of the National Asphalt Pavement
Association or NAPA) was founded. One of the first activities: a Quality Improvement Program,
which sponsored asphalt testing at universities and private testing labs.

1956
Congress passed the Interstate Highways Act, allotting $51 billion to the states for road construction.
Contractors needed bigger and better equipment. Innovations since then include electronic leveling
controls, extra-wide finishers for paving two lanes at once and vibratory steel-wheel rollers.

1970s
The national energy crisis underscored the need for conservation of natural resources. Since that
time, an increasing amount of recycled asphalt has been incorporated in mixes. Today, asphalt
pavement is America's most recycled material with more
than 70 million metric tons of asphalt paving material is
recycled each year.

1986
NAPA established the National Center for Asphalt
Technology (NCAT) at Auburn University, Alabama,
providing a centralized, systematic approach to asphalt
research. NCAT recently opened a new research center
and test track and is now the world's leading institution for
asphalt pavement research.

2002
The EPA announced that asphalt plants are no longer on
its list of industries considered major sources of hazardous
air pollutants

Photo Iowa DOT

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