3 ms·
You made me curious: https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2006/3127/2006-3127.pdf https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2006/3127/2006-3127.pdf There is almost 4 million miles (6.5 mil
by matwood 4y ago
You made me curious: https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2006/3127/2006-3127.pdf https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2006/3127/2006-3127.pdf
There is almost 4 million miles (6.5 million kilometers)
of roads in the United States, with just over 45,000 miles [73,000 kilometers (km)] composing the Interstate Highway System (fig. 2) (Federal Highway Administration, 2004). The total distance
of U.S. roads combined could circle the Earth at the equator 160 times; the interstate highways, almost two times.
The analysis shows that a total of approximately 1.5 billion metric tons (Gt) of aggregates, 35 million metric tons (Mt) of asphalt, 48 Mt of cement, and 6 Mt of steel is in place in inter- state highways. These estimates illustrate the large quantities of these materials used in the Interstate Highway System.
This doesn't translate exactly to how much surface is covered, but I know locally all the highways are concrete. Also, placing sensors in 4M miles of roads is no small task.
- b112 4y agoInteresting. There is a lot more ashpalt here, in Canada. I suspect it is due to frost, and "frost greaves", which can buckle and damage even concrete roads. Asphalt is cheaper, and replaced more often, so degradation due to frost greaves and such is not as fiscally damaging. But my entire point is, by placing sensors during normal resurfacing, it literally is a small task.