Alaska highway asphalt degradation

North of Fairbanks roads aren't paved because winter freeze-thaw cycles destroy asphalt. Connects to the UA Fairbanks research program above.

Concrete and asphalt are not exactly high-performance composites, although there are still people who do research — actually quite a bit of research now over in civil engineering on improved concrete, because there's so much concrete used and so inexpensive, and they'd like to perfect it, particularly in tensile strength. A lot of work is done on asphalt particularly in colder climates, because the asphalt expands and contracts. In Alaska you get much above Fairbanks and they don't even bother to pave the roads, because you'd have to rebuild the road every spring. The winters are so severe it would contract and crack.