Maintenance and Repairs

April 15, 2024 Published by Golden Horseshoe Chapter - By Tim Van Zwol

Spring is Here – Time to Review Your Asphalt Pavements

From the Volume 19, Spring 2024 issue of the CCI GHC Condo News Magazine

Spring is an exciting time of year! Warmer temperatures, melting snow, and the anticipation of seeing your asphalt pavement surfaces after a long (or short) winter season! Are there surprises lurking below the snow pack, or was the ice conveniently covering those known blemishes that could not be repaired last fall?

Maintenance and repair of asphalt pavements is typically lower on the priority list compared to more urgent roof and building envelope repairs for condo owners. Regardless of the situation, this time of year is a great opportunity to re-evaluate the condition of your surface parking areas and drive lanes and potentially make an action plan to address any repairs. It is imperative for condo owners to achieve the full life expectancy out of their asphalt pavements by ensuring problem areas are identified quickly and correctly repaired.

Asphalt 101 & Typical Deterioration

Asphalt 101 - asphalt pavements typically consist of asphalt cement mixed with stone aggregates to create a homogeneous material. The asphalt pavement two layers above a thicker, compacted granular base that is designed to provide support and a drainage path for water.

Several factors are at play during its service life that will impact the long-term performance of your asphalt pavements:

• Expertise of paving contractor and quality of installation during construction.
• Adequate sloping and drainage to ensure water runs off asphalt surfaces quickly and avoid water ponding.
• Traffic volume over time.
• Magnitude of wheel loading.
• Overall age of asphalt pavement and ongoing exposure to UV radiation and freeze-thaw cycles

All asphalt pavements, even if properly installed during construction, have a limited service life. Areas of deterioration will develop at a rate dependent on the factors listed above. The following types of asphalt deterioration are common:

• Longitudinal cracks. When asphalt pavement is initially placed, the width of the laydown strips is dictated by the size of the asphalt spreader. Longitudinal cracks may form at these joints if they are poorly blended/rolled together.
• Settlement and cracking of asphalt around catch basins will commonly form if granular backfill is improperly compacted during construction or if granular fines migrate into pipe joints over time.
• Alligator cracking. Typically caused by shrinkage of the asphalt pavement due to ongoing temperature cycles.
• Rutting and potholes. May be caused by localized settlement or low spots due to poor drainage and/or weak spots in the granular base.

There are Options for Repair/Replacement

It’s not a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’ and to what extent asphalt pavements will deteriorate over time. If a pavement system is properly installed and maintained, localized repairs may be required near the 5-10-15 year marks in high traffic areas and then wholesale replacement at the end of its intended service life (20-25 years).

Regular maintenance and/or localized repairs completed at 5-year intervals during the first three quarters of its lifespan will cost less overall and will be more effective in extending its overall service life. The quality of asphalt pavements will significantly decline beyond the 15-year mark if ongoing maintenance has not been completed up until this point. If one waits to complete localized repairs during the last quarter of the pavement lifespan, the repairs will involve greater areas and at a greater overall cost. The effectiveness of these localized repairs with this approach will be short-lived.

Localized repairs may include routing and sealing of longitudinal cracks or full depth asphalt patch repairs at rutting/potholes. Asphalt milling & overlay is also a viable option to extend the service life of the system when the surface is worn, but the base is in good condition.

Wholesale replacement would typically involve complete replacement of the asphalt pavements and may involve replacement, re-sloping, and re-compacting of the supporting granular base layers.

Get Expert Advice

You may be thinking - my parking area looks like a disaster and has been ignored for far too long – what do I do? An engineer can assist with the initial evaluation, design and then construction review of a new asphalt parking area and/or drive lanes. In particular, the initial condition assessment will review the extent and severity of deterioration and help to gauge the remaining life span. An engineer can help to determine whether localized repairs are sufficient or if wholesale replacement is warranted. Regardless of the situation, this time of year is a great opportunity to re-evaluate the condition of your surface parking areas and drive lanes and make a well-informed action plan.

Tim Van Zwol, P.Eng. – Principal
Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd.