5 Common Pavement Failures That Require Paving Repair

30 July 2021
 Categories: , Blog


Is your driveway showing its age with cracks and ruts? You can expect pavement failure with age because of the stress a paved surface endures as it ages. Pavement failure can appear in different forms, including cracks, ruts, potholes, and depressions. A professional paving repair can extend the life of your paved surfaces by several years. What common paving failures need the attention of residential paving contractors?

1. Cracks

Cracks are the most common signs of pavement failure. Cracking can come from expansion and contraction cycles caused by weather changes. It can also be a sign of improper construction. Cracks appear in different forms. For example, alligator cracks, sometimes called fatigue cracks, appear as a web of small cracks that make the surface look like an alligator's skin. Joint cracks are cracks that run along joints in the paving surface, and edge cracks are on the edges of the paved surface. Block cracking appears as square or circle-shaped faults, and slippage cracks make the surface look wrinkled. Reflection cracks follow cracks in the subsurface.

Paving repair for cracks depends on the extent of the cracking. Light cracks are repaired by filling and sealing the surface. Deep cracks require removing the cracked section and building it afresh from the subsurface.

2. Ruts

Ruts appear as sunken lines in the path commonly followed by vehicle wheels. Ruts happen when the surface compresses because the subsurface was insufficiently compacted. Residential paving repair of ruts involves laying thin patches over the ruts.

3. Potholes

Potholes form when cracks expand and worsen. The top layer wears off with the hole going down to the subsurface when the pothole is not repaired. Deep potholes present a danger to speeding vehicles.

Paving repair for small potholes involves filling and patching. Deeper potholes require removing the pothole section and rebuilding the section.

4. Depressions

Depressions appear when sections of a paved surface sink below the normal level. You will see \water pooling in depressions. They happen when the top surface is not installed in the right way. They can also happen when the subsurface shifts. Residential paving contractors apply overlays on depressions to make the surface level again.

5. Corrugations

A corrugated surface feels bumpy because of lumps on the paved surface. They can happen when the wrong grade of paving material is applied. Paving repair for corrugations involves cutting out the corrugated sections and applying a full patch.

Would you like to restore the condition of paved surfaces on your property? Talk to a residential paving company, such as New England Paving, about paving repairs.


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