Well you know what asphalt is, a mixture of asphalt oil and crushed aggregate that is viscous at high temperatures and hardens as it cools to average air temperatures as the oil viscosity increases. Concrete is basically a mixture of aggregates, sand, water and cement. Concrete does not “dry” as is commonly thought, it hardens through a chemical reaction between the cement and the water. Concrete is a very useful product in constructing buildings and bridges but not always the best choice for a traffic surfacing. An average parking lot would be designed using 2” of asphalt or 6” of concrete, this in part makes asphalt cheaper for initial construction when budgeting construction costs. Concrete typically has a longer life than asphalt without repairs, but asphalt can be repaired or maintained over the course of its life. When concrete fails, it must be removed and replaced. Many studies nationwide show that when it comes to total life-cycle costs asphalt is cheaper than concrete in almost every case. Asphalt projects take far less time to construct as well since it does not need “curing” time like concrete. When asphalt is cool, it is complete. As a good rule of thumb asphalt is smoother, quieter, cheaper and faster than concrete.