Is black top cheaper than concrete?

[bobscogin]

Salt is terrible for concrete. It eats away at the cement causing the top layer to pop and spaul. Easy way to decrease the life of it.

While salt isn't good for concrete, that's not the whole story. The salt gets the blame because it happens to be on the concrete at the same time. Spalling is caused by the freeze/thaw cycle in concrete that has not been finished properly or has lost it's surface density due to excessive bleed water. This results in high permeability, water is absorbed into the surface, and the expanding ice causes the spalling. The correct mix with entrained air, and properly finished, is highly resistant to salt damage and spalling. A poor mix, improperly finished will spall from freeze/thaw even in the absence of salt

Bob

 

[ConCretin]

Asphalt is less expensive but concrete will outlast it many times over. We are still driving on concrete highways that were placed in the 70's.

There are a couple trade offs with either. Concrete will show oil stains and is harder to keep ice free in cold weather. Asphalt is destroyed by gasoline and softens in hot weather.

By the way, concrete can withstand salt just fine. Properly cured, air entrained concrete is not affected by salt. Improper finishing is usually the real culprit.

Edit; Sorry, I missed a whole page - You guys already covered all of this.