Using recycled asphalt pavement, sometimes called reclaimed asphalt pavement, or RAP, is an affordable and environmentally favorable option for asphalt paving a driveway or parking lot. Asphalt is 100 percent reusable and is one of the most recycled products in the United States, according to the National Asphalt Pavement Association.
RAP use is encouraged by state and national governments due to the benefits that both highway agencies and taxpayers receive by saving tax dollars and bettering conditions for a greater number of roads.
The recycled asphalt comes from large road resurfacing projects. The old road surface is “milled” using a large diamond tipped cold plane milling machine, and the millings are brought back to the asphalt plant. The asphalt millings are then repurchased and used again as cold millings other wise known as RAP. RAP is often called cold milling since it’s applied cold instead of as a hot mix. The compacted RAP millings gradually harden over time as the oils in the asphalt bind together and form a semi solid surface.
Recycled asphalt millings (RAP) can create a fantastic base for home or business owners whose budget does not currently allow for hot mix asphalt paving. RAP is often applied over a gravel base. Sommerset Paving rolls and compacts the RAP with a commercial vibratory roller over the existing gravel. The compaction process releases the oils and this allows the asphalt to begin to bind together. Over a summer, the surface becomes semi solid. Homeowners can pick this option in rural areas, but some subdivisions do not allow this type of surface.
RAP makes an excellant base for a future layer of hot mix commercial asphalt. The advantages RAP has over traditional crushed limestone aggregate are that RAP kicks up less dust from motor vehicles, it gets displaced less easily by snow plows, and it is aesthetically more pleasing for homes and businesses.
Recycled Asphalt Pavement can save as much as 50% over hot mix paving. Other benefits of using recycled asphalt pavement include:
- the compacted RAP surface does not shift as much as gravel
- the surface does not track as much dirt in homes
- it gets picked up less then gravel by snow plows
- it creates a perfect base for future hot mix paving