Asphalt Facts for Our Sydney Clients

At Municipal Ready-Mix Ltd. we have been supplying industrial Cape Breton with asphalt for road, driveway and parking lot paving for over 63 years. We always like to share helpful information and have put together a basic overview of the asphalt manufacturing and paving processes for your convenience.

Manufacturing Asphalt

Hot Mix Asphalt is a combination of approximately 95% stone, sand, or gravel bound together by asphalt binder, a product of crude oil. The asphalt binder is heated, combined and mixed with the aggregate at our asphalt plant in Sydney River. Asphalt is loaded into trucks for transport to the paving site.

Paving with Asphalt

The trucks dump the asphalt into hoppers located at the front of paving machines. The asphalt is placed, and then compacted using a heavy roller which is driven over the material. Because the temperature of the asphalt drops rapidly after spreading and because its compaction has to achieve a specified density, it must be placed at temperatures above 175 degrees Fahrenheit (80 degrees Celsius).

Compaction usually takes place within a matter of minutes after the paver spreads the asphalt. Traffic is generally permitted on the pavement immediately following compaction.