We've all been in situations where the question "What kind of work do you do?" pops up, and most in this industry probably respond with something along the lines of "I pave parking lots." Nothing wrong with that, but in light of some changes the industry has undergone maybe there's another answer we can offer.
Paving and pavement maintenance work has been around since the first road was paved, but years ago there was little reason to preserve pavement: labor was inexpensive and fuel and materials were cheap and plentiful. The preferred approach, for roads and parking lots, was to wear it down and tear it out. But no more. We can credit numerous studies that demonstrate the value of various routine and preventive maintenance techniques, and we can credit the equipment manufacturers and material producers whose R&D departments continually improve the products that enable contractors to work to extend pavement life.
But contractors themselves can take much of the credit. They know how to do it and they do it every day. And what they do is preserve pavement.
This chart was developed by the Federal Highway Administration in an effort to make sure everyone is speaking the same pavement preservation language, and a quick look at it makes it clear that paving & pavement maintenance contractors are completely involved in pavement preservation, from remove-and-replace repairs and overlays to cracksealing and sealcoating. So whenever the question is asked, "What kind of work do you do?" maybe the new answer should be "I preserve pavement."
