Winter Asphalt Parking Lot Maintenance is key in avoiding potential liabilities and it’s even more essential during the winter weather.
Download Printable Article (PDF) >>>
Every season has different impacts on your asphalt pavement, but because winter is hear it’s important to know how the cold weather affects your parking lot. Ice is one of the most damaging winter elements to your parking lot. It’s slippery, dangerous and deceiving. It’s not only hazardous to pedestrians and motorists, but it can lead to structural issues beneath the asphalt surface, which requires repaving.
Ice loves asphalt cracks. During the winter season, when snow melts and turns into ice, they seep into the cracks and expand and contract. This leads to larger formed cracks and potholes. Without consistent asphalt maintenance, this can become a huge expense. Make sure that your parking lot has proper drainage and that you have a parking lot maintenance contractor fill the cracks to avoid additional hazards in the future.
With snow and ice, comes rock salt. Rock salt is the solution we’re all guilty of using to help the snow melt on walkways and parking lots. Have you noticed in areas that you use rock salt, you have more potholes and wear and tear? That’s because although it helps melt the ice and snow fast, the water refreezes later. As your parking lot continuously freezes, melts and refreezes again, the water and ice seep beneath the asphalt surface and erodes the pavement.
Asphalt Maintenance is key throughout the entire year. It’s important to know what damages to look for, create a priority list and have a budget in place. Being proactive will protect your asphalt parking lot all year round, especially in the most damaging winter months.
Our experts at American Asphalt can diagnose and fix whatever damage an asphalt pavement may have from the winter season.