The Cost Savings of Asphalt Milling
What is Asphalt Milling?
Asphalt milling is used in the paving industry to precisely remove asphalt from the top of an existing asphalt surface. This material is loaded onto a dump truck and taken to a dump site where is recycled into aggregate and added to new asphalt. This process is made more efficient with the use of milling machines. Milling machines can also be called cold planers.
Milling machines made an appearance in 1974 with the invention of the Roto-Mill. According to the Asphalt Recycling and Reclaiming Association (ARRA), it was created to help combat the 1970's petroleum crisis. These machines are still used today in the asphalt industry to gain efficiency and aid the paving industry in recycling material.
Benefits of Milling.
Sometimes asphalt parking lots don’t need fully removed. Instead of doing a four-inch remove & replace, for example, you may only need to replace two inches of asphalt. Another example would be your asphalt parking lot might be damaged in 20% of its entirety. With milling, you can remove the precise amount of asphalt necessary. You can mill just the bad sections and replace them. With the ability to select the areas and depths that are replaced, paving contractors can save customers money.
Cost Comparison To Full Depth Removal.
Let's take the example from earlier where only two inches of asphalt needs replacement. If that asphalt is four inches thick, the paving contractor would most likely have to remove the full four inches to repair it. This means, whether you need to replace it or not, the customer will be paying for four inches of asphalt. This will result in the loss of a significant amount of money from the customer.
In this same scenario, by removing only two inches of asphalt, you will save 50% of the material. Although this wouldn't work out to exactly 50% in savings, it will still save the customer a significant sum of money on the paving project.
If you think your parking lot would be a good candidate for asphalt milling, contact me today.
