Pub. 1 2018-2019 Issue 3

23 have been lined with asphalt. Recycled asphalt piles not only don’t cause dust problems, they can be used to reduce dust on unpaved roads. Highway construction projects often use RAP as clean fill material. Products fromother industries canoftenbe recycled intoasphalt pavements. This includes materials such as blast furnace slag, used tire rubber, and asphalt roofing shingles. The recycling conservesmillions of barrels of liquid asphalt binder every year. The traffic to and from an asphalt plant can be heavy. It is heaviest during the summer, when companies are most likely to be building and repairing roads. To maintain the quality of the asphalt, plants carefully manage the traffic in order to minimize delays at the plant or at the paving site so that the asphalt mix will reach the site at the right temperature. Asphalt plant locations, whether new or temporary, are often put into places that are as close as possible to the work sites for roads. The asphalt plants themselves are usually fairly compact. The plants include the following: • Tanks to store fuel and liquid asphalt • Environmental-control equipment that filters stack emissions • An aggregate dryer drum for removing moisture and a mill where materials can be combined • Large silos for storing finished pavement People have historically used naturally occurring asphalt for thousands of years in order to waterproof objects. The U.S. has been making asphalt pavements since the end of the 1800s. The U.S. has approximately 2millionmiles of roads in the form of streets and highways; most of those roads (94 percent) have an asphalt surface.Why? Asphalt makes a smooth surface, it is relatively inexpensive to build and maintain, it lasts well, it is environmentally friendly, and it can be 100 percent recycled. Many asphalt plants in theU.S. are owned andoperatedby fam- ilies, and have been for decades. These companies create local jobs and the owners often contribute volunteers and money for community events. The asphalt pavement itself is useful for walking trails, bike trails, bus rapid transit lanes, airport runways, and roads. Porous asphalt is useful, too, for manag- ing the water from storms. Utah has its share of the nation’s 3,500 asphalt plants.The plants make about 400 million tons of asphalt paving material and generatemore than $30 billion. More than 400,000 employees work toproduce asphalt, aggregate, or roads.Those roadsmake it possible for companies to implement “just in time” inven- tory systems. Because of our roads, we are able to go to all the different places we need to go, whether that is work, school, medical offices or hospitals, shopping, church, or vacation. 3