pavement, in civil engineering, durable surfacing of a road, airstrip, or similar area. The primary function of a pavement is to transmit loads to the sub-base and underlying soil. Modern flexible pavements contain sand and gravel or crushed stone compacted with a binder of bituminous material, such as asphalt, tar, or asphaltic oil. Such a pavement has enough plasticity to absorb shock. Rigid pavements are made of concrete, composed of coarse and fine aggregate and portland cement, and usually reinforced with steel rod or mesh.