What is tarmacadam?

Tarmacadam, also known as tarmac, is a portmanteau abbreviation of tar-penetration macadam. Tarmacadam was used to pave roads and other large, flat surfaces, and although tarmacadam is not used to pave anymore due to the introduction of asphalt, the word tarmac is still used in reference to airport runways and some roads in many parts of the world, especially in former British colonies. Tarmacadam was patented by E. Purnell Hooley in 1901, who later sold the invention to Wolverhampton MP, which relaunched the product with great success in 1905. Tarmac Limited, the tarmacadam arm of Wolverhampton, remains a heavy player in British heavy building materials. Tarmacadam is a retooling of macadam, a type of road construction invented by John Loudon McAdam in the early 19th century. Macadamized roads are made from three layers of aggregate materials decreasing in size, with the bottom layer being the largest and heaviest. Each layer is pressed with a roller to flatten it and to force the ...  more

Tarmacadam is a bituminous material used in paving, also known as Tarmac or Asphalt. Tarmacadam is comprised of tar and broken stone which is mixed and shaped during paving, usually laid and brushed evenly and then compressed by industrial machinery such as a steam roller.