Nothing turns away customers quite like a pothole-filled parking lot! If a driver hits a pothole at the wrong angle, it’s very likely that they’ll have some sort of damage to their vehicle. In addition, a rough parking lot puts out the wrong image to potential customers. A smooth lot will certainly boost curb appeal!
If your pavement has potholes or widespread cracks, the first step is to call Metro Paving and get on our spring schedule. Before any work is done, one of our paving experts will come out to your lot and evaluate the asphalt. They’ll be able to tell which service you need—if the damaged areas are small and the foundation is strong, we’ll be able to do our patching process. If the asphalt in need of repair stretches over a bigger area, and the foundation is still in good shape, we’ll do our overlay process instead. Both of these are cheaper than replacing the asphalt, so we offer them when the pavement allows for it.
Patching, like in the above photo, means that the affected areas are filled in with fresh asphalt and milled down to be even with the older pavement. This results in “patches” of the road that are darker than the older asphalt. These are a common sight on frequently traveled roads, as patching is a quick fix and can be used if the damage doesn’t stretch over a large area. An overlay begins with a similar process, as we first repair the major damaged areas and mill the asphalt so everything is the same height. Then we install a new layer of asphalt, creating a new and stable surface.
If you were to leave the potholes or deep cracks, they would only become an even bigger problem later on, and you’d likely be looking at an asphalt replacement. However, even if your pavement is in bad shape, there’s still a possibility for a more budget-friendly solution, which is our reclaim and repave process. This is also an environmentally sound choice, as we grind up the old asphalt and add it to a fresh base material, which creates a new, stable foundation using the asphalt that was already there. We’ll let you know if the reclaim and repave process is a possible solution.
Winter and early spring can be harsh on pavement, especially with the recent freeze-thaw cycle. If your parking lot needs repair, give us a call and get on our schedule. Metro Paving has been serving the Twin Cities area since 1988.