Concrete vs. Asphalt: Weighing the Pros and Cons in Infrastructure Design

The use of concrete is not new: the first highways built by Hitler were made of concrete (they had to withstand tanks).

Concrete compared to asphalt has both merits and drawbacks.

Concrete needs less maintenance, but repairing asphalt roads is cheaper and faster. Once the steamroller has been passed you can already pass over an asphalt road, on a concrete one you have to wait a week.

Concrete withstands heavy loads better, but asphalt makes driving much more pleasant. Concrete must provide small expansion gaps that transmit an unpleasant train-rail type tam-tam to passengers. This noise makes it less suitable even in urbanized areas.

Asphalt can be made to drain in a way that improves visibility in rain, while concrete tends to form more puddles. Also, salt tends to ruin concrete much more than asphalt.

In short, if you got the idea that concrete is better than asphalt, it is not. As usually in life, there is no absolute winner, but you have to sift the pros and cons well.