We may not realise it, but concrete is one of the most commonly used man-made construction materials in the world today. It’s an important material that is used extensively in buildings, bridges and roads for structural applications. It also has a range of benefits including its strength, durability and versatility.

In this article, we will look deeper into the impact the world would see if concrete had never existed. Believe it or not, concrete has a deeper impact on the world than you think, helping with infrastructure and history and it makes up a lot of the places we take in and enjoy every day.

Our Roads Wouldn’t Be as Smooth

Concrete is commonly used for surfacing roads. Yet, without this concrete, vehicles would be left travelling on dirty dust roads, making a huge amount of mess and causing a lot of damage to the vehicles. Without concrete surfacing, motorways also simply wouldn’t exist and nor would we be able to drive across the country with ease. What’s more, concrete surfacing on roads also gives vehicles extra grip on the road to help them keep safe.

We Wouldn’t Have the Same Infrastructure

Concrete is also a common material for constructing bridges, due to its strength, stability and reliability. Many of the connecting bridges in the UK are in fact constructed from concrete, and without these, we simply would not be able to travel in the same way as we do. Crossing the country without bridges would prove to be extremely difficult and constructing bridges with other materials like used in older bridges, simply wouldn’t hold the sheer amount of vehicle and pedestrian traffic today’s bridges see. What’s more, as bridges are in fact extra roads, they do help with both congestion and journey time. If we didn’t have concrete, our important bridges simply wouldn’t exist, causing traffic chaos.

Many buildings are also constructed from concrete due to its stability. This includes homes, offices, shops and more. Without concrete, we would have to rely on other materials to provide the same stability, when they simply cannot. Other materials such as bricks and wood are too time consuming and unstable to be used for larger construction projects and have many other disadvantages. Concrete is a vital material for infrastructure.

We’d also miss out on the number of stadiums and arenas we have, all of which are made from concrete. Concrete gives these structures their outstanding strength and stability to hold thousands of fans and visitors at once. Without concrete, these structures simply wouldn’t be able to hold the same amazing capacity that they currently do and tickets would be a lot harder to get hold of.

We’d Have Less Historical Structures

Believe it or not, but concrete has in fact been an important part of construction for hundreds of years. Some of the most famous and important structures in history, new and old, are constructed from concrete.

For example, The Pantheon in Rome is almost two thousand years old, yet it still remains to be the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world and the best-preserved Roman building of all. The dome is built from 4,535 metric tonnes of concrete.

Concrete from SMC Mini-Mix Concrete

SMC Mini-Mix Concrete are renowned suppliers of high-quality ready mix concrete throughout Shrewsbury and the surrounding areas. With decades of experience, our team provides a consistently professional service offering first-class advice and expertise to our clients. Feel free to browse our website and discover our range of services, and if you would like to find out more, contact us using an online contact form or telephone today. We’ll be more than happy to help.