Road construction often involves removing worn-out pavement and replacing it with fresh materials. Old asphalt does not have to become waste, however. It can be processed and reused for road surfacing, which saves virgin materials for other uses. Washington State considered such an alternative in the 1970s, a period of rising construction costs and oil prices. A road rehabilitation project it carried out in 1977 produced notable results. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) reported that the recycled hot-mix asphalt provided 16 years of actual service, compared with 10 years for the original layer it replaced.
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