From striping for parking lots to sealing cracks in concrete to sidewalk repair, there are many things to consider when it comes to the safety of our roads and everything peripheral to them. After all, more people are on the roads than ever. In the United States, a good chunk of the population has their driver’s license, and it is far from uncommon for the average household to own more than just one car.
Much of this is accomplished through the paving industry. In the United States alone, this industry took in as much as $36 billion, all in the year of 2017 alone. In the years that are to come, this number is only likely to grow. This industry is an important source of jobs all throughout the country, with more than 284,000 people working in some capacity for this industry, employed by more than 195,000 thriving businesses. From adding striping to parking lots to sealing concrete to laying it in the first place, there are many aspects of our roads and peripheral spaces that such professionals deal with.
Concrete is one of the materials that is most popularly and commonly used for such things as mentioned above, and concrete can be seen used in many different capacities all throughout the United States. For instance, concrete is commonly used for highways, as it is a strong and durable material that can easily stand the test of time, provided that it is given the proper care over this period. In fact, more than one fifth of all highways (up to 30% of them, as a matter of fact) were created with the use of concrete.
And this is far from the only application of concrete seen commonly throughout the country. Concrete is used for parking lots as well. The use of striping for parking spots will be important in any given parking lot space. Striping parking spots can be ideal for any parking space, and taking the time for striping your pavement will make it a safer and more effective space. Striping out spots will be able to be performed once the concrete in the space has dried. Sometimes, this striping will need to be repainted but the repainting of striping is a great way to keep things feeling new and looking great – and remaining fully functional.
Regular maintenance should be done for concrete roads just as it is done for concrete parking lots. Keeping these roads smooth is important – and not just for the purposes of comfort. After all, drivers who are forced to drive on roads that are not smooth will actually end up wasting up to 10% more fuel than the drivers who are lucky enough to have the opportunity to drive on smoother roads. Not only does this waste money, but it’s something that is hugely detrimental to the environment as well – especially when you consider the fact that far too many roads are not maintained and kept in the quality that they really should be.
And smoother pavement itself is simply much more cost effective. This type of pavement that has been maintained well is likely to last much longer than pavement that is broken up or become damaged in some other way over the course of time – and with the lack of care and repairs. In fact, pavement that has been kept smooth will actually last up to 25% longer – and no less than 10% longer – than pavement that is, for whatever reason, not as smooth or even not smooth at all.
For many parts of our roads, maintenance is one of the most important things. It make sense when you think about it, as regular usage of these roads is common. With people driving all over the place and often relying on various motor vehicles for transport, it makes sense that our roads would become somewhat worn over the course of time. However, regular care and upkeep can keep these roads like new – or nearly so. Fortunately, there are more than enough professionals, at least in the United States, to participate in this upkeep on a regular basis and in many parts of the country.
