[hermitdev]

Ive been enduring a rebuild of I-294 around Chicago. It's around a 40 mile rebuild (ripping everything out down to dirt), IIRC. They're widening the highway in stretches, completely redesigning interchanges as well to remove sharp turns so that semis can keep speed and better merge. Lots of overpasses and other bridges being rebuilt to accommodate the extra lane each way. They completed the stretch around Ohare airport pretty quickly, in about a year, but seeing the materials used, I doubt it will hold up over time. I expect it will need maintenance on the first completed stretch before the 10 year project is complete. They went from concrete to an all asphalt layering from what I saw. Doubt it will hold up.

Edit: designing -> redesigning.

[ComputerGuru]

I’ve been seeing a lot of concrete get torn up and replaced with asphalt here in Illinois, all over the Chicagoland region. It’s a shame.

Additionally, something I’ve noticed is cutting out squares of broken asphalt around a pothole and filling that, only repeated every few feet to make it look like a patchwork quilt. I get that it is cheaper, but it’s not even going to last through a single winter...

[LegitShady]

asphalt can be designed for similar loading to concrete, and can be easier to repair and replace. Oil may have been cheap so asphalt may have been cheap reducing the cost significantly even with future maintenance.

Hard to say without knowing the details. Asphalt is not garbage and the only people I know who can evaluate it by sight work with it routinely.