Overview of current practices on porous asphalt on highway application / Muhammad Mohktar Samat and Norizah Omar

This paper presents an overview of current practice on porous asphalt on
highway application. The main reason for considering the application of
this particular type of road surfacing is the drainage characteristics of
the surface layer. The drainage is made possible by the large percentage
of voids up to 20% and that are interconnected, allowing water and air to
flow towards the road shoulder. The use of porous asphalt offers a
number of advantages such as reducing aquaplaning potential, improving
skid resistance at high speed, reducing glare particularly on wet roads
and an overall improvement in traffic safety. On the other hand, the
disadvantages of porous asphalt compared to traditional road surfacings
include short design life, high cost in terms of construction, maintenance
and repair. However, porous asphalt has been applied in increasing
quantities in European countries such as the Netherlands, France, Italy
and Germany