Different colored Asphalt in States

[silverback1065]

I've been wondering this for a while, so I thought I'd ask you guys.  Why is it that some states have different colored asphalt?  What causes this?  I've noticed that Mississippi's asphalt is sometimes red.  What causes this, the aggregate?  An admixture?

[cl94]

PA asphalt is often red because they use aggregate sourced in-state.

One thing I have noticed is that asphalt in Vermont is often quite light-colored compared to other places. Don't know why.

[SectorZ]

Anyone know what causes the random purple-tinged color you see in some of the suburbs north of Boston. Saugus comes to mind as having more than a few colored like that.

[jwolfer]

Anyone know what causes the random purple-tinged color you see in some of the suburbs north of Boston. Saugus comes to mind as having more than a few colored like that.

They are starting rainbow colored pavement.  Different roads are different colors.  Its all party of the "gay mafia agenda" . California another liberal state is doing the same thing

LGMS428

[20160805]

Anyone know what causes the random purple-tinged color you see in some of the suburbs north of Boston. Saugus comes to mind as having more than a few colored like that.

They are starting rainbow colored pavement.  Different roads are different colors.  Its all party of the "gay mafia agenda" . California another liberal state is doing the same thing

LGMS428

Seriously? 

I haven't noticed any unusual asphalt colours in my area, but I have noticed double standards as to what roads are asphalt and which are concrete.  I've seen concrete residential streets, but I've also seen asphalt freeways and expressways.

[jwolfer]

Anyone know what causes the random purple-tinged color you see in some of the suburbs north of Boston. Saugus comes to mind as having more than a few colored like that.

They are starting rainbow colored pavement.  Different roads are different colors.  Its all party of the "gay mafia agenda" . California another liberal state is doing the same thing

LGMS428

Seriously? 

I haven't noticed any unusual asphalt colours in my area, but I have noticed double standards as to what roads are asphalt and which are concrete.  I've seen concrete residential streets, but I've also seen asphalt freeways and expressways.

SARCASAM

LGMS428

[Mr. Matté]

Anyone know what causes the random purple-tinged color you see in some of the suburbs north of Boston. Saugus comes to mind as having more than a few colored like that.

They are starting rainbow colored pavement.  Different roads are different colors.  Its all party of the "gay mafia agenda" . California another liberal state is doing the same thing

LGMS428

Seriously? 

I haven't noticed any unusual asphalt colours in my area, but I have noticed double standards as to what roads are asphalt and which are concrete.  I've seen concrete residential streets, but I've also seen asphalt freeways and expressways.

SARCASAM

LGMS428

Besides, the gay mafia is clearly using thermoplastic:

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=16157.0)

[jwolfer]

Anyone know what causes the random purple-tinged color you see in some of the suburbs north of Boston. Saugus comes to mind as having more than a few colored like that.

They are starting rainbow colored pavement.  Different roads are different colors.  Its all party of the "gay mafia agenda" . California another liberal state is doing the same thing

LGMS428

Seriously? 

I haven't noticed any unusual asphalt colours in my area, but I have noticed double standards as to what roads are asphalt and which are concrete.  I've seen concrete residential streets, but I've also seen asphalt freeways and expressways.

SARCASAM

LGMS428

Besides, the gay mafia is clearly using thermoplastic:

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=16157.0)

Oh my goodness. That is just fabulous!

LGMS428

[MikeCL]

I have a question somewhat like the op but what I've noticed is say when they repave a road it's almost much darker then the original and has less rock and looks like more tar?

[silverback1065]

I have a question somewhat like the op but what I've noticed is say when they repave a road it's almost much darker then the original and has less rock and looks like more tar?

when they repave a road, they put in new surface asphalt, and some extra binder.  the extra binder is what makes it so dark.  it will get bleached by the sun over time though and turn more gray.

[MikeCL]

I have a question somewhat like the op but what I've noticed is say when they repave a road it's almost much darker then the original and has less rock and looks like more tar?

when they repave a road, they put in new surface asphalt, and some extra binder.  the extra binder is what makes it so dark.  it will get bleached by the sun over time though and turn more gray.

My thing is has it always been like this or something new to add extra binder?

[silverback1065]

I have a question somewhat like the op but what I've noticed is say when they repave a road it's almost much darker then the original and has less rock and looks like more tar?

when they repave a road, they put in new surface asphalt, and some extra binder.  the extra binder is what makes it so dark.  it will get bleached by the sun over time though and turn more gray.

My thing is has it always been like this or something new to add extra binder?

i believe it depends on the project.  but if this is done a lot, you get situations where the road is almost equal in height as the curb, which causes the municipality to have to raise the curb (if they're competent).  i've seen situations where they mill say, 2" off, and replace with 2" of surface and binder, this will cause the new surface to be higher than the old. 

[MikeCL]

I have a question somewhat like the op but what I've noticed is say when they repave a road it's almost much darker then the original and has less rock and looks like more tar?

when they repave a road, they put in new surface asphalt, and some extra binder.  the extra binder is what makes it so dark.  it will get bleached by the sun over time though and turn more gray.

My thing is has it always been like this or something new to add extra binder?

i believe it depends on the project.  but if this is done a lot, you get situations where the road is almost equal in height as the curb, which causes the municipality to have to raise the curb (if they're competent).  i've seen situations where they mill say, 2" off, and replace with 2" of surface and binder, this will cause the new surface to be higher than the old.

I was happy they did the street I live on I'm not sure why but it was as slick as ice when it had any type of water on it with the re-pavement it far better less rocks in it I see

[TEG24601]

It does appear to be greatly influenced by the aggregate or binder.  In Washington, SR-20, through the North Cascades is colored Red, because they used the rock they blasted to build the road, to make the asphalt.

[Rothman]

In southeastern Idaho, pavement can get a red color due to their using lava as a snow/ice treatment.

[roadman65]

Better question is why does Florida's asphalt start out black and then turn white after a few years?  I always thought it was the sun bleaching it, but I have seen some paving projects use a different texture asphalt that retain the black colore even after 20 years.

Of course back to the OP, not all states are standard state wide either.  FL is red textured in the Panhandle while the main Peninsula is the black that turns white.

[Revive 755]

Better question is why does Florida's asphalt start out black and then turn white after a few years?  I always thought it was the sun bleaching it, but I have seen some paving projects use a different texture asphalt that retain the black colore even after 20 years.

I believe it has something to do with oxidation and the material ratios - particularly with the amount of binder and recycled materials - in the asphalt mix.

[Gnutella]

Is it just me, or does Missouri use very large rocks in their asphalt aggregate?

[US71]

I've been wondering this for a while, so I thought I'd ask you guys.  Why is it that some states have different colored asphalt?  What causes this?  I've noticed that Mississippi's asphalt is sometimes red.  What causes this, the aggregate?  An admixture?

I know some of Oklahoma's older roads are reddish looking. Maybe has something to do with the iron content of the gravel used?

[formulanone]

Better question is why does Florida's asphalt start out black and then turn white after a few years?  I always thought it was the sun bleaching it, but I have seen some paving projects use a different texture asphalt that retain the black colore even after 20 years.

I believe it has something to do with oxidation and the material ratios - particularly with the amount of binder and recycled materials - in the asphalt mix.

There's lots of shell rock, coral, and limestone in most of Florida's pavement. It really bleaches over time like almost nowhere else, but get get a closer look, and the sharp texture reveals the ocean's skeletal bounty.

I suppose it depends on how it fades or how much recycled material is used. A buddy of mine who used to be in the paving industry told me it's very close to 100% nowadays.

Alabama, Mississippi, and southwestern Tennessee seem to have lot of red in their pavement, though it differs from place to place as the oil and layers wear down. Oklahoma and Arkansas also have some reddish pavement.

I've seen some blue, purple, and greenish tints in sporadic locations around the country.

[wriddle082]

In Georgia and the Carolinas, with the high granite content in the aggregate, you can see sparkles in the pavement when the sun hits it just right.

[mrcmc888]

In Georgia and the Carolinas, with the high granite content in the aggregate, you can see sparkles in the pavement when the sun hits it just right.

Tennessee has that as well.  One thing I've noticed with East Tennessee asphalt is that it seemingly never fades.  It takes years for a freshly-paved section of road to bleach into even dark gray.

[adventurernumber1]

Most of the time I see the typical black and grey asphalt, and white and yellow and tan concrete, but fairly often I have seen unusual colors for pavements as well.

The most prominent examples of this are the almost-white-colored asphalt many places in Florida, and the brown and red colored asphalt all over the place in states like Tennessee and Mississippi. My parents told me that each of these respective occurrences were because Florida used sand in their pavement and Tennessee used clay in their pavement, but someone here would have to confirm that information. In TN, for example, it is quite typical for an asphalt road to be resurfaced (or paved for the first time if it is new) looking black, but then by the time a few years passes it may usually be either grey or red/brown (if it is a road that has a brownish color to it, it will usually show up by the time a few years pass). My home state of Georgia almost never has very unusual colors with any of their pavements (at least on main roads), but the most prominent example of an oddity regarding that (that no longer exists) was several years ago when a short section of Georgia Highway 201 in Whitfield County had brownish asphalt not unlike that found prominently in Tennessee, until it was resurfaced in Fall 2014. This coloring was more evident closer to 2014 before it was resurfaced (at the end of its life), but here is 2008 GMSV showcasing this: https://www.google.com/maps/@34.8779177,-84.9829193,3a,75y,271.2h,88.35t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1svBbage_-yCBe-g7nrPqH0w!2e0!7i3328!8i1664

Here is some GMSV showing the reddish-brown asphalt roads often found in the state of Tennessee: https://www.google.com/maps/@35.0595731,-85.1927593,3a,75y,340.21h,85.74t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sQIj-bY8KNZOHYRXFn-vvnQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DQIj-bY8KNZOHYRXFn-vvnQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D93.59545%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Here is some GMSV showing the white-ish asphalt roads often found in the state of Florida: https://www.google.com/maps/@29.1291925,-81.125851,3a,75y,35.33h,88.9t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1swH_0ADemz8REI0PxsyeeRQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[Max Rockatansky]

A lot of the older roads in the Mojave in San Bernardino County in California have a red tinge to them.  My understanding was that the quarry that the materials was mined from had a lot of iron oxide or could have some sort of sand stone mix.  Kelbaker Road comes to mind has having some really red looking secitons.

[hotdogPi]

Reading, MA has red (about this color) asphalt on some of its minor streets.