When someone says innovation, most people will think about computers and electronics or NASA type stuff, not about new products and services provided by commercial paving contractors. It’s a shame because there is a lot of innovation happening in the commercial paving industry currently. One of the cooler new products out there today is that of porous asphalt.

Porous asphalt is a specific mix of asphalt that leaves it open-graded, or porous enough to let water flown down through it. It has the a lifespan of traditional asphalt despite the fact that it is quite literally, riddled with holes. That top surface of porous asphalt can’t do the job on it’s own though. It needs the underlying support to be designed for the area that it’s going to be in.

This underlying layer is actually a series of various materials sandwiched together to allow water to move through and maintain its structural support for the porous asphalt layer above. This is definitely something that a professional commercial paving contractor should handle, one mistake could leave you with an even more costly asphalt repair than normal wear and tear would produce. Depending on many different factors, this series of underlying layers can range anywhere from 12 to 36 inches.

Now, why is porous asphalt important and innovative? It all comes down to the bane of all construction projects. Water. Before this advancement, commercial paving contractors spent a great deal of time figuring out how to divert water away or around areas where they didn’t want it. Now, through the innovation of porous asphalt, they don’t have to fight what water naturally does, which is to follow the path of least resistance downward. Now commercial paving contractors can let the water fall where it may and it will drain all by itself.