Asphalt Crack Repair
Complete solutions for asphalt crack repairs at your facility in Southern Ontario.
Do you have large cracks in the asphalt of your local road, driveway, or commercial parking lot?
Asphalt cracks can be a warning sign of future problems. Asphalt cracking is typically caused by a weakened sub-based, improper drainage, or heavy traffic on your pavement. If left untreated, asphalt cracks will often develop into more serious problems like potholes.
At Brant Asphalt Paving, our experienced team provides a wide range of asphalt paving services, including asphalt crack repairs. Contact us for a free quote for asphalt repairs or parking lot resurfacing for your facility.
The Formation of Asphalt Cracks
Asphalt surfaces will often be required to support heavy loads by vehicle traffic. In most cases of asphalt cracking, the load will be the direct cause of the cracks. However, this process of cracking is often exacerbated by other factors.
Although asphalt pavement is very durable, it requires a stable layer of sub-base and effective drainage for longevity. If excess precipitation gets under the surface of an asphalt road, driveway, or parking lot, the moisture can weaken and destabilize this sub-base during the Canadian winter’s typical freeze-thaw cycles.
Asphalt cracking can also be accelerated by a process called raveling. This occurs when aggregate is stripped off the surface of the asphalt pavement over time, reducing the thickness of the asphalt and weakening it.
Common Types of Asphalt Cracking
There are many types of cracking that can appear in asphalt pavement. Here are a few of the most common types of cracks that you are likely to encounter:
Crocodile Cracking | Alligator Cracking
Crocodile or alligator crackings is also often referred to as ‘fatigue cracking’. This type of cracking is named for its resemblance to the hide of a crocodile or alligator, with many connected cracks.
Crocodile cracking is the most common type of cracking for asphalt. It can be caused by a weakened sub-base, improper drainage, or heavy traffic, although it is typically a combination of all three factors.
Edge Cracking
Edge cracking will begin as crescent-shaped cracks parallel to the edge of a road or parking lot, although they may develop into crocodile cracking over time. You will often see them on paved country roads.
Edge cracking is caused by a weakened sub-base at the edge of the road. When the shoulder of a road drain poorly, the sub-base near the shoulder will deteriorate over time. If the pavement is thin, it will crack easily when vehicles drive close to the edge. This is why you will often see edge cracking on narrow roads.
Transverse Cracking
Transverse cracking are cracks that run perpendicularly across a road. They are a type of thermal crack that is created when asphalt is exposed to colder temperatures before it is completely hardened.
Transverse cracking may start as a small crack on the surface of the road, then slowly erode through the entire layer of pavement. These cracks must be repaired immediately, as they will be worsened by heavy traffic and extreme weather.
Repair the cracks in your asphalt before they create problems.