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 Asphalt pavement material is a precisely engineered product composed of about 95% stone, sand, and gravel by weight, and about 5% asphalt cement, a petroleum product. Asphalt cement binds the material together.
Asphalt is an increasingly sophisticated material. Pavements being built today can be engineered to meet a variety of needs – for less noise, greater durability, enhanced skid resistance, reduced splash and spray in rainy weather, and a smoother ride than ever before.
Asphalt is 100% recyclable and reusable and according to a recent report by The Environmental Protection Agency and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA/EPA) is America’s number one recycled product.
When a road surface is rehabilitated, the old asphalt road surface is milled and removed and then reclaimed, crushed and graded to produce Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement, known as RAP. RAP is added to new asphalt pavement ingredients to reduce the amount of asphalt cement and other materials required. When RAP is used in this way, the asphalt cement in the old pavement is reactivated, becoming part of the 'glue' that binds the new pavement together and reducing the amount of new asphalt cement required.
To learn more about asphalt please visit the National Asphalt Pavement Association's (NAPA) site at www.hotmix.org and the Asphalt Pavement Alliance's site at www.asphaltroads.org.
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 The asphalt division of Tilcon New York Inc. serves New York City, the lower Hudson Valley, central and northern New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania from its 14 asphalt facilities located throughout southeastern New York State and northern New Jersey.
Tilcon's asphalt facilities supply hot mix asphalt for the Department of Transportation for the states of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania - as well as the NJ Turnpike and Garden State Parkway Authorities, the NY Thruway Authority, The Port Authority of NY and NJ, and the Federal Aviation Administration.
Tilcon's 11 asphalt plants (at 9 locations) in New Jersey and 5 plants (at 5 locations) in New York offer a variety of hot mix asphalt products. Because there is no standard set of HMA classifications, the designations and specifications for hot mix asphalt vary slightly based on the state or local agency. Click button below to see the common asphalt mixes with their New Jersey and New York equivalent.
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 Superpave - short for Superior PERforming Asphalt PAVEments - was developed from the Strategic Highway Research Program in 1987. The Superpave system was developed to take into consideration not just the application of the asphalt (base course, surface course), but the traffic load and climate conditions of the road.
Superpave mixes are classified by the size of stone used in the mix, the traffic load and the required performance grade of the binder. Please click on the link above for more information.
Five of Tilcon's New Jersey asphalt facilities and all of Tilcon's New York asphalt facilities produce Superpave mixes. Please check with Tilcon's sales department for mix availability.
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 A new 'buzz' word in our industry is Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA). According to the National Asphalt Pavement Assocation (NAPA), WMA is the wave of the future. NAPA defines warm mix as 'the generic term for a variety of technologies that allow producers of hot-mix asphalt pavement material to lower the temperature at which the material is mixed and placed on the road.'
Such reductions have the obvious benefits of cutting fuel consumption and decreasing the production of greenhouse gases. Other benefits include better compaction on the road, the ability to haul paving mix for longer distances and the ability to pave at lower temperatures.
WMA was developed in Europe and has been heavily used there for the last 10 years. It has piqued the interest of industry associations in this country, especially NAPA and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Over the last two to three years it has been growing in popularity here.
There are currently over 15 different technologies on the market to produce warm mix. Some involve an additive (wax, powder, foam) that is introduced into the asphalt mix that alters the viscosity and allows workability of the mix at lower temperatures. Other technologies involve water injection systems that inject a very small percentage of water into the mix to facilitate foaming of the asphalt, allowing aggregate to be coated with asphalt at lower temperatures.
Based on field data and laboratory studies, it is clear that warm mix is the future of our industry.
If you are interested in learning more about WMA, please visit NAPA's website dedicated to this technology at www.warmmixasphalt.com or download Oldcastle Materials award-winning brochure.
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