Bates International RV Blog

A brief history of paved roads

625 B.C.
The Babylonians are credited with the first recorded use of asphalt as a road building material. The ancient Greeks were also familiar with asphalt (the word comes from the Greek “asphaltos,” meaning “secure”).

1500s
Christopher Columbus landed off the shores of Trinidad in 1498 and discovered the famous Asphalt Lake, which would later be used on the Pennsylvania Avenue project in Washington, D.C. covering 54,000 square yards.

1800s
Macadam roads became popular in the U.S. for rural road construction during the 1830s and 40s. Belgian chemist Edmund J. DeSmedt laid the first true asphalt pavement in the U.S. in Newark, N.J. The Cummer Company opened the first central hot mix production facilities in the U.S. The first asphalt patent was filed by Nathan B. Abbott of Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1871.

1920s
World War I ended and the use of the automobile was steadily rising, but roads outside the city limits were frequently too muddy or dusty for travel. To fix this problem, road engineers used oils and asphalt.

1940s-1950s
The modern American turnpike is born. After World War II, full scale automobile production resumed along with major levels of road maintenance and new highway construction. By 1950, vehicle registration exceeded 40 million cars and 8 million trucks. In 1956, President Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act and launched the Interstate System to create an infrastructure highway program unmatched anywhere in the world.

1970s
A national move to conserve energy and materials initiated a widespread interest in recycling of pavement materials; asphalt is now America’s most recycled product.

1990s
A traffic study by the World Road Association indicates that asphalt pavements are at least 4 decibels quieter than concrete pavements.

2000s
The U.S. population has increased 23 percent since 1990 and the number of miles driven has risen by 41 percent. Only half of the nation’s major roads are in good condition, based on an analysis of recent Federal Highway Administration data.