# HMA Placement

Mix placement and compaction are the two most important elements in HMA pavement construction. Mix placement involves any equipment or procedures used to place the delivered HMA on the desired surface at the desired thickness.

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- Last updated: 2026-11-01
- Review: reviewed by licensed professional engineers on the previous Pavement Interactive site, where reviewers were not recorded by name

Mix placement and [compaction](https://pavementinteractive.org/reference-desk/construction/compaction/introduction/) are the two most important elements in HMA pavement construction. Mix placement involves any equipment or procedures used to place the delivered HMA on the desired surface at the desired thickness. Mix placement can involve complicated asphalt paver operations or simple manual shoveling. This section provides a basic description of HMA placement operations. The *[Hot Mix Asphalt](https://pavementinteractive.org/glossary/hot-mix-asphalt-hma/) Paving Handbook* (TRB, 2000[^1]) and the Asphalt Institute's *HMA Construction* manual (2001[^2]) contains detailed information on asphalt paver components.

Calculator: HMA tonnage for a section — https://pavementinteractive.org/tools/hma-tonnage/

## Sources

[^1]: Transportation Research Board (TRB) (2000). Hot-Mix Asphalt Paving Handbook 2000. Transportation Research Board, National Research Council. Washington, D.C.
[^2]: Asphalt Institute (2001). HMA Construction. Manual Series No. 22 (MS-22). Asphalt Institute. Lexington, KY.