Views: 53 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2016-08-20 Origin: Site
Pavement cracks develop due to expansion and contraction caused by temperature fluctuation. These cracks allow water to penetrate the pavement base and sub-base materials, causing pavement elements to lose structural integrity. If not repaired or prevented this cracking effect will grow, leading to deformation of the pavement, pot holes, and ultimately the degradation of asphalt and concrete surfaces. Cracksealing is preventive maintenance against water from further damaging roads. The use of hot and cold-applied sealants minimizes water penetration, sub-surface ice formation and traffic erosion. Most importantly, cracksealing lengthens the life of roadways, parking lots and patios made of asphalt or concrete. According to several of the country’s DOTs, with timely preventive cracksealing the useful life of highway pavements can be extended up to 10 years in comparison to other temporary surface treatments such as chip seals, micro paving, thin overlays and slurry seals. As an added benefit, cracksealing is executed at one-sixth the cost of conventional pavement rehabilitation or reconstruction. Keep in mind, cracksealing is preventative maintenance, not reconstruction. When a roadway or parking lot is "alligatored" or has incurred more extensive damage than a few cracks, the area must be cut out and replaced or patched.