Abstract Pavement surface performance plays a key role in tyre-road interaction phenomena and greatly affects road safety, vehicle's operational costs, and environmental sustainability. Surface texture and friction change over time with the action of the repeated passage of vehicle tires, especially those of heavy vehicles (long-term variations). Other factors related to asphalt mix composition, primarily the aggregates and their mineralogical composition, the binder and their combination, have a great effect on micro and macrotexture evolution. In particular, the extent to which a surface will polish depends on both the level of traffic and the ability of the aggregate to resist polishing. Moreover, an aggregate may provide different levels of skid resistance depending on where it is used because the polishing effect is also influenced by other stresses such as braking and cornering forces. In light of the above, this paper focused on a 4-year monitoring of a test site (both straight and curve sections) with four different dense graded friction courses designed and produced with aggregates of different petrographic nature: limestone, basalt, and expanded clay. Several devices and test methods (Skid Tester, Sand Patch Test, Laser Profilometer) were used in order to investigate skid resistance and macro-texture progression. Results showed that: (i) mixes have a different microtexture deterioration behavior in relation to aggregate type, especially during the pavement early life, confirming how limestone does not perform as well as basalt or expanded clay under traffic actions; (ii) macrotexture evolution trend is characterized by a consistent decrease after 4 years; the maximum value of macrotexture was registered 13 months after opening to traffic (when the migrated bitumen is completely removed by traffic). Results highlighted practical applications and perspectives for both practitioners and researchers.