Is asphalt less durable than concrete roads? I've heard that asphalt roads have a much shorter lifespan and much higher maintenance cost than concrete roads. Is this true? Incidentally, if this is true, why do most governments seem to prefer to use asphalt over concrete?

Well, there's a large variation in what constitutes an 'asphalt' road -hot mix, warm mix, etc - but I think what you want to discuss is the difference between PCC and ACC - namely portland cement concrete and asphalt cement concrete.

But as was mentioned, location, weather, traffic patterns, etc all play a role in the 'lifespan' of a type of road covering.

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Most municipalities choose ACC over PCC because it has a lower initial cost to their budget.