It is no surprise that the winters in Bozeman and Southwestern Montana take a hard tole on asphalt surfaces. Temperature extremes can cause subsurface base courses to expand and contract, movements which are then transferred directly to your driveway or parking lot. Areas that will experience the most damage in an asphalt driveway or parking lot are places where traffic is the heaviest. If your project area is a residential driveway, then look at places where cars are usually parked or spots that vehicles will be making turns on. This may be the entrance of a driveway from a main thoroughfare or turnarounds in the driveway or parking lot. Parking lots will often have the most damage in driving lanes as well as heavily used parking spaces.
When a driveway initially begins to fail you will be able to see hairline cracks that appear throughout the pavement. These hairline cracks will most likely occur in areas of high traffic or spots that have heavy equipment or trailers resting upon them. These cracks early on will not pose any structural threat to your driveway, but are the start of what may become a much larger issue. As soon as a void is opened in your asphalt surface, it will give water an area to penetrate. When you mix this with the freeze and thaw cycles that we experience here in Bozeman, Belgrade, Livingston and Big Sky it is apparent that the cracks will expand and grow larger. We recommend sealcoating your driveway as soon as these hairline fractures and cracks begin to form. That way you will not give water the ability to penetrate in to your asphalt driveway or parking lot, causing even greater damage.
Give Yellowstone Pavement Solutions a Call today for a free consultation and a working solution to any driveway or parking lot issues you may be experiencing.
