Did You Know That Pavement Goes Through Different Distinct Life Stages?
Yes, your pavement can tell you a lot about its conditions and it offers number of visual clues that will help you to know about its health.
If you are giving your pavement proper maintenance, your asphalt pavement can last up to 20 years. Like all paving materials, asphalt will experience signs of deterioration that usually occurs within a relative short time after installation. Before your pavement fails, it will typically display some signs of deterioration that are usually difficult to miss.
If signs of distress is detected, you can take corrective actions before the pavement fails completely. A regular maintenance program that includes asphalt crack sealing can help you to prevent premature wear. Repairing potholes and other type of damages will help you to extend the lifespan of your asphalt.
Here we are sharing some signs of distressed pavement that will help you to take corrective action before your pavement fails.
6 Common Symptoms of Asphalt Pavement Distress
#1. Alligator Cracks
Alligator cracking is usually a sign of pavement distress that immediately need to be replaced. Alligator cracking is a specific cracking pattern in which small cracks are interconnected to form a damage pattern that resembles the skin on an alligator’s back.
These types of cracks generally occurs, if any large potholes or cracks are left unrepaired allowing the water to seep into the foundation and cause permanent damage. Alligator cracking also occurs, if the layer of the asphalt is not so thick to support the weight of traffic.
#2. Waves
Waves in your asphalt pavement can be caused by two different issues- ruts and washboards. The long waves that show up in wheel paths, this is a condition calling rutting. Washboard waves are concentrated where vehicles make frequent stops and starts such as at crosswalks or intersections.
Rutting is caused due to poor installation or pavement design that was inadequate for the actual use of the pavement. On the other hand, wash boarding is caused due to inferior asphalt blends such as using excessive amount of asphalt cement or choosing an incorrect asphalt cement for the climate.
#3. Flushing
Flushing is the term most often used to describe smooth and shiny patches on asphalt pavement that appear in the wheel paths. It is caused due to excessive asphalt mix that contained too much asphalt cement during pavement installation. Therefore, a surface may show some signs of wash boarding as well as flushing.
#4. Wrinkles/Tears
Small rips and wrinkles in the asphalt pavement surface indicates that the bond between the asphalt and its foundation has failed. In order to be strong and flexible, asphalt pavement needs to be securely bonded to its foundation. If bond fails, you will notice wrinkles or tears in the asphalt within the first 12 months of the pavement’s installation. Although, structural flaws and installation errors are the most common causes of bond failures.
#5. Pumping
If the traffic pumps water and/or mud on the top of the pavement, this indicates that water has reached the foundation. Once water has been allowed to seep beneath the surface of your pavement, its erosive action will weaken the foundation. If asphalt cracks and potholes are left untreated, they will cause long lasting structural damage to the foundation.
There are variety of methods that can be used by asphalt contractors to repair distressed pavement. If you notice these signs, your first step should be to consult a professional and reputable asphalt expert to evaluate your pavement. If the damages are extensive, the pavement need to be replaced.
Main Infrastructure provides a complete range of asphalt maintenance services to customers across Toronto and many other locations in Canada.
Whether you need asphalt crack sealing, infrared asphalt repairs, Eco-friendly asphalt paving services, or any other asphalt-related service, our highly trained people have the skills and experience to provide you with quality results at competitive rates.
If you are looking for services for Asphalt Crack Repair in Toronto, Main Infrastructure offers safe, innovative and reliable services.
Thanks for pointing out that waves on my asphalt can be cause by ruts. I’m interested in looking for asphalt sealing services soon in order to make sure that the winter wouldn’t be damaging my driveway. Perhaps I should get it repaired first before getting it sealed again because the waves are a bit of an eyesore.
Thanks for the reminder that wrinkles shouldn’t be normal when it comes to asphalt pavement. I’d like to know more about such asphalt pavement maintenance because there are times when I notice small things like that on my driveway. I never knew that those are actually signs that the asphalt is in distress.
It’s alarming to know that large asphalt alligator cracks that are left unrepaired for a long time will cause permanent damage since water will seep into the foundation. We have large cracks in our asphalt driveway, so I’ll show this article to my parents. I’ll try to convince them to hire a professional soon to have it fixed. Thanks.
Working on any kind of tear on a driveway immediately does sound better than letting it sit and expand. With how large our driveway is, a single crack like that could domino into the entire fixture breaking. I’ll make sure that never happens by looking for an asphalt expert who can help us do some patching whenever needed.