Milling, paving or tar and chip: choosing a road surface

A road surface is a decision you live with for a long time. Municipalities weigh it against a tight budget. Developers want something that looks right and lasts through the first few winters. Property owners with a long driveway or a private lane usually just want to stop dodging potholes. Three common approaches cover most of these jobs: asphalt milling, paving and resurfacing, and oil and chip. Each one fits a different situation.

Milling: taking the old surface off

Milling is done with a machine that grinds off the top layer of an existing asphalt road. A truck rides alongside and catches the material. What is left behind is a rough but even surface ready for new asphalt.

The reason to mill instead of just paving over is height. Every new layer raises the road. Pile enough of them up and the pavement gets higher than the curbs, the driveway aprons and the manhole covers. Milling takes off what you are about to replace so the new surface lands at about the same level as the old one. It also removes cracked, rutted or crumbling asphalt rather than burying it, which gives the new layer a better start.

Milled material can often be reused, so ask whoever is doing the work what happens to it.

Paving and resurfacing

Paving puts down hot asphalt, spread by a paver and compacted with rollers. Resurfacing is the same process over an existing road, usually after milling. This is the choice when the road carries real traffic, trucks or a lot of daily use, and you want a smooth, durable, finished surface.

What decides how long it lasts is mostly what is underneath. If the base is failing, new asphalt on top will show the same problems in a season or two. A good contractor looks at drainage and base condition before quoting the surface, and says so when a section needs more than a new top layer. Be wary of anyone who quotes without walking the road.

Oil and chip: tar and chip

Oil and chip, also called tar and chip, is a different kind of surface. A layer of liquid binder is sprayed on the road, stone chips are spread over it, and the chips are rolled in. The result is a textured, durable surface that typically costs less to put down than hot asphalt, and it is a familiar choice on rural roads, township roads and long lanes where traffic is lighter.

Trade-offs are real. The surface is rougher than asphalt, loose stone can show up in the first days, and it is not the look everyone wants in front of a commercial building. But for the right road, it is a practical way to stretch a budget across more miles.

How to pick

• Heavy traffic, trucks, or a commercial entrance: milling and paving.
• Existing asphalt with cracking but a sound base: mill and resurface.
• Lighter traffic, rural setting, longer stretch of road: oil and chip is worth pricing.
• Failing base or standing water: fix the drainage and base first, whatever the surface.

If you are not sure, ask for both options priced side by side. Seeing the numbers next to each other makes the tradeoffs clear, and a contractor who only offers one method may be steering you toward what they happen to do.

Why material access matters

Paving is a logistics job. Hot asphalt has to travel from the plant to the road and be placed before it cools. Stone has to arrive when the crew needs it. Delays cost money, and bad timing costs quality. Shallenberger Construction, Inc has access to quarries and asphalt plants to provide materials for paving and resurfacing, oil and chip, and asphalt milling projects. That access, along with our own trucking affiliate, helps keep the material moving once the crew is on the road.

Projects come in all sizes, from a stretch of private road to a larger resurfacing job, and SCI takes on projects of any size and scope.

Get a quote

Read the Paving, Asphalt Milling, and Tar and Chip page for the full scope, then call (724) 628-8408. Tell us the road, how it is used, and what is going wrong with it. Quotes are free, and we would rather tell you honestly which surface fits than sell you the wrong one.