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What causes potholes?
Potholes are caused by three main components: ultraviolet light, water, and traffic.
Over time, ultraviolet will start to oxidize the oils that were in your asphalt. As the years go on, your parking lot will lose flexibility because of this and in extreme temperatures, too much stress will be put on the asphalt and cracks will form.
Once cracks form in your parking lot, it provides a place for water to drain into rather than into catch basins. Water will slowly seep into the sub-base and compromise the structural integrity of the asphalt.
When the conditions are right and base is saturated, heavy traffic can cause too much stress on the asphalt and start to cause potholes. At this point, crack seal and sealcoating will not help and you will need to explore what asphalt repair options are availble.
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What asphalt repair options do I have?
There are a multitude of options for pothole repair! The main options that you will have will be:
- Pothole Patching with either Hot Mix Asphalt (“HMA”) or Cold Patch.
- Infrared Asphalt Repair
- Cut and Replace
- Mill and Pave
- Full Depth excavation and repave
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How long will these repair options last?
With asphalt, there a lot of variables that even the best project estimators can’t fully know. The biggest issues that effect longevity is water, water, and water. The areas that are blown out are most likely caused because of water drainage issues, so it is a case by case basis on how long a repair might last!