As your asphalt pavement ages, it will develop small cracks. This is just an inevitability. Even the best pavement begins to break down at some point, typically around 3-5 years after paving. If you ignore these early cracks, your asphalt could fail prematurely, especially when water is allowed to penetrate these cracks during the winter months.

The Freeze Thaw Effect on Pavement

When water penetrates asphalt cracks in the winter, it freezes, expands, and widens these asphalt cracks. This happens numerous times over the course of a winter, worsening asphalt cracks each and every time and degrading your asphalt surface from the inside out. The Result: Premature pavement failure.

Guess what? Maryland’s constantly changing weather makes things even worse!

“Any time you have weather where it is 60 degrees one day and 20 degrees the next, you’re going to have a significant impact on the pavement,” said Rob Morosi, Michigan Department of Transportation spokesman.

Cracks are just the beginning. Rapid freeze-thaw can even lead to potholes.

“Soil conditions will react differently, but essentially what happens is the top layer thaws while the soil stays frozen deeper down,” said Kirk Weston, managing director of the St. Clair County Road Commission. “You end up with moisture trapped between the frozen soil and the asphalt and as that drains, it makes the base unstable and you get potholes.”

Battling Back against the Freeze Thaw Effect

So how do you prevent the freeze-thaw effect from affecting your asphalt pavement? Crack filling! According to the Federal Highway Administration Manual of Practice (FWHA Report Number FHWS-RD-99-147), “Crack sealing and filling are imperative preventative maintenance tools.”

Crack Filling from your Baltimore Asphalt Contractor

Asphalt may seem tough and durable, but add up the effects of traffic and the elements, and you’ll see how quickly commercial asphalt can wear down. This is why you need to contact your local, Baltimore asphalt contractor at the first sign of cracking. This is why you need PTG Enterprises. We have been in the asphalt paving business for more than a decade and our crews are the best available. We know how to perform the job the right way, using only the best materials and equipment available.

So why would you call anyone else?

If you have any further questions about the Freeze Thaw Effect on Pavement, please contact PTG Enterprises aka My Pavement Guy today by calling 410-636-8777, or click here today! You can check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!

Sources:

1. How well does the pavement perform in freeze and thaw conditions?
2. Freeze-thaw cycle is recipe for road potholes

Tags: Baltimore Asphalt Contractor, Crack filling, Freeze Thaw Effect

This entry was posted on Friday, March 8th, 2013 at 4:20 pm and is filed under Asphalt and the Environment, Baltimore Crack Filling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.