For commercial property owners and homeowners with very long driveways in Morris County, there is a paving term you need to know: Milling. Often confused with simple excavation, milling is a specialized process that recycles your existing pavement and prepares the surface for a perfect new layer.
Black Diamond Paving operates advanced milling machinery. This technology allows us to restore parking lots and roadways efficiently, cost-effectively, and sustainably.
What is Asphalt Milling? Milling (also known as cold planing) involves a heavy machine that grinds up the top layer of asphalt.

• The Process: The machine has a large cutting drum equipped with carbide teeth. It chews up the asphalt to a specific depth (usually 1.5 to 3 inches) and loads the ground-up material directly into a dump truck via a conveyor belt.
  
• The Result: You are left with a textured, grooved surface. This grooved texture provides an incredible surface area for the new layer of asphalt to bond to, much better than paving over a smooth surface.
  

Why Mill Instead of Excavate?

1. Maintaining Grade: In a parking lot with concrete curbs and sidewalks, you cannot just keep adding layers of asphalt on top (overlaying). Eventually, the asphalt would be higher than the curb, causing water to run onto the sidewalk or into the building. Milling removes the old layer so the new layer flushes perfectly with existing curbs.
   
2. Cost Savings: Full excavation involves digging out 6-10 inches of material. Milling only removes the damaged surface layer, leaving the structurally sound binder and base layers intact. This saves massive amounts of time and disposal fees.
   
3. Eco-Friendly: The milled asphalt (millings) is 100% recyclable. It is taken to a plant and recycled into new asphalt pavement or used as a base material for other projects.
   

Correction of Surface Defects Milling is the best way to fix specific asphalt failures:

• Rutting: Depressions caused by tire tracks in the wheel paths.
  
• Raveling: Where the aggregate has separated from the binder, leaving a rough surface.
  
• Bleeding: Where asphalt binder has risen to the surface, creating slick, shiny spots. By grinding these imperfections away, we create a flat, true canvas for the new pavement.
  

Residential Applications While mostly commercial, milling is used on long residential driveways in Morris County to transition smoothly into garages or main roads without creating "speed bumps" or drainage issues. It is the professional way to resurface a driveway without raising the grade.
Conclusion Milling is the professional standard for pavement restoration. It is faster, cleaner, and better for the environment than full demolition. Trust Black Diamond Paving, the leading asphalt paving Morris County contractor, to utilize the latest technology for your project.