Asphalt milling

Asphalt Milling: When is it Necessary and How is it Done?

When the base under your existing asphalt pavement has aged or even completely failed, the best way forward is to hire a contractor to carry out asphalt milling and repaving. Common base problems include base failure, levelling problems, and uneven deterioration. In such cases, the current asphalt will need to be milled so the base can be repaired. Asphalt milling is also necessary to avoid the excessive heights on roads and paths which have repaved numerous times.

Asphalt milling is basically a process of grinding up and recycling the asphalt. Asphalt milling machines are essential for this work and have been around for about thirty years. Modern day milling machines have a milling head, a cutter drum, and a conveyor system. Asphalt milling machines break up and process large chunks of asphalt with the milling head and cutter drum. The conveyor system is designed to cut down on the manual labour once necessary to clean up the asphalt pieces after being milled.

Larger modern asphalt milling machines can cut approximately 25 meters per minute. These extremely powerful machines must be operated only by highly specialised contractors. Some asphalt milling machines require two or more operators to work together. Safe and efficient use of such machines should include one operator controlling the majority of the functions from the machine’s deck and another operator controlling the operations from the ground.

If you believe that your asphalt pavement is possibly in need of asphalt milling, you should contact an asphalt contractor who has experience in milling projects.