There’s about 1 gallon of asphalt in every 42-gallon barrel of crude oil. Were it not used to pave roads, asphalt would be a waste product of crude oil refining.

I don’t think there are any good substitutes to asphalt concrete for paving roads. Railroad tracks only need crushed rock - if we fully transition away from crude oil, we might have no choice but to switch to rail for all our ground-based transportation needs.

https://mercercapital.com/energyvaluationinsights/a-bright-s...