Research Journal - 1st Draft

Cracks, bumps, and potholes are on every roads and highways that our tires ride over every day. But, have you ever noticed that some cracks and potholes for more often on certain roads? That’s because there are two types of pavements; asphalt and concrete pavement. And they are made up of different materials and sustain differently.


Roads and highways are used constantly for access and mobility. The Encyclopedia Americana by Grolier stated back in historical time of the early Christian era, trails were used as routes from Rome to China by caravans to freight animals (Grolier, para 4). Even though trails were used then, it wasn’t till 1990 when automobile was invented and was considered the beginning of modern highway.


Here in Utah we see a lot of asphalt paving, which goes for the United States as well. About 80 percent of that use is for highways, airports, school playgrounds, and other paving. The first use of asphalt street paving began in the 1800s for Pitch Lake in Trinidad and the Bermudez deposit in Venezuela (Grolier, Asphalt para 6). That had an influence for the United States to use asphalt for street paving. In the early 1870s United States laid pavement in front of the city hall in Newark, New Jersey.