Lanham, Md. – The Asphalt Pavement Alliance (APA) has released a new brochure on the impact of pavement smoothness on the fuel economy of vehicles.
The attractive brochure discusses how even slight improvements in vehicle fuel economy can have a profound impact when leveraged across the country. “Improving pavement smoothness over a typical roadway network can have dramatic effects,” said Dr. Howard Marks, the brochure’s author.
“In fact, it has been documented that a road maintenance program that increases pavement smoothness only slightly could reduce annual vehicle fuel consumption by up to 10 percent on those roads. Overall, we think there is potential for saving about 7 billion gallons of fuel annually in the U.S. This would be equivalent to taking over 10 million vehicles off the road every year,” Marks concluded.
The brochure also points out that asphalt roads tend to start out smooth and stay smooth throughout their service life. Typical maintenance and rehabilitation activities are usually in the form of overlays, which give the traveling public smooth, quiet surface that’s just as good as new.
The new brochure can be downloaded free by clicking here.
The Asphalt Pavement Alliance is a coalition of the National Asphalt Pavement Association, the Asphalt Institute, and the State Asphalt Pavement Associations. The Alliance's mission is to further the use and quality of asphalt pavements. The Alliance will accomplish this through research, technology transfer, engineering, education, and innovation. For more information about Perpetual Pavements, visit www.asphaltfacts.com.