Modern tarmac was patented by British civil engineer Edgar Purnell Hooley, who noticed that spilled tar on the roadway kept the dust down and created a smooth surface.. (Details of this story vary a bit, but the essence of is the same, as are the basic facts). He took out a patent in 1901 for tarmac. Hooley's 1901 patent involved mechanically mixing tar and aggregate prior to lay-down and then compacting the mixture with a steamroller. The tar was modified by adding small amounts of Portland cement, resin, and pitch.Hooley, E. Purnell, , "Apparatus for the preparation of tar macadam", July 26, 1904 thumb|right|The Italian Autostrada dei Laghi ("Lakes Motorway"; now parts of the Autostrada A8 and the Autostrada A9), the first controlled-access highway ever built in the world, in 1925, the year following its inauguration.
Modern tarmac was .patented by British civil engineer Edgar Purnell Hooley, who noticed that spilled tar on the roadway kept the dust down and created a smooth surface. (Details of this story vary a bit, but the essence of is the same, as are the basic facts). He took out a patent in 1901 for tarmac. Hooley's 1901 patent involved mechanically mixing tar and aggregate prior to lay-down and then compacting the mixture with a steamroller. The tar was modified by adding small amounts of Portland cement, resin, and pitch.Hooley E. Purnell, , "Apparatus for the preparation of tar macadam", July 26, 1904 thumb|right|The Italian Autostrada dei Laghi ("Lakes Motorway"; now parts of the Autos,trada A8 and the Autostrada A9), the first controlled-access highway ever built in the world, in 1925, the year following its inauguration.