As we welcome spring and April showers, our pavement will be up against many different elements that work to lessen its overall integrity. Water is one of the most damaging elements to your pavement, especially when the drainage system is not performing well. A deteriorating drainage system can happen for many reasons such as age, high traffic, and more, but luckily, there’s still time to fix your pavement if you notice ponding, or standing water, on your pavement that lingers.
Here are a few things that will affect your pavement this spring:
Fluctuating Temperatures
As we switch between temperatures above and below freezing, your pavement will expand and contract as a result, especially if there is water trapped in it. The water will cause the bond between the asphalt cement and the aggregate to weaken or wear away, which leaves the pavement vulnerable to the freeze-thaw effect. Even if you can’t see the damage right away on the surface, the break down will be occurring in the sublevel, and it will eventually show itself in potholes, cracks, and dents.
Flooding
With snow melting and rainy season coming, your pavement will be dealing with more water on its surface and foundation. If there’s not an adequate drainage system in place to give that water somewhere to go, then it’s in danger of being compromised. In general, water can cause many different types of damage over time:
- Stripping, the debonding of asphalt’s aggregate and binders.
- Rutting, the depression of the surface mostly due to heavy traffic.
- Cracking, the damage that occurs after repeated expanding and contracting.
- Failures, the weakening of the adhesive between layers of the aggregate and binder.
Depending on what stage your pavement is at, it will need patching to cover the damages and prevent water from entering the foundation, a new lot all together if the damage is too extensive, or potentially a new layer of sealcoating for protection. Sealcoating, a finishing process on pavement, protects your pavement from oxidation, chemicals, and water penetration.
If you have seen damage on your pavement and want an expert to take a look at it, contact our paving professionals at Metro Paving Inc.