Have you inspected your parking lot or community roads for sinkholes? If not, now is the time! The constantly changing sub-base conditions during the northeast freeze-thaw cycles play a huge part in sinkholes forming. Additionally, property owners and management use ice control methods such as salt. Over time, salt can deteriorate the walls of the catch basins– causing sinkholes to form. Although sinkholes can’t necessarily be prevented, being proactive with annual inspections can help control them and prevent costly catch basins and roadway failures.

New Year, New Pavement Management Plan

The New Year is the perfect time to start implementing positive routines for both you and your pavement! Parking lots are one of the most expensive elements that property managers are responsible for. Even when a parking lot is new, it will not be long before traffic, heavy trucks and seasonal weather conditions will take its toll on the pavement. A well-maintained parking lot weighs heavily on curb appeal as well as customer safety and satisfaction. With the high costs of petroleum, it is important to protect your investment.

You wouldn’t purchase a brand-new car and then never change the oil, right? Well, maintaining your pavement every 3-4 years is just as important as changing the oil in your car every 3,000 miles.

So, what type of maintenance are we talking about? For starters, we recommend performing an annual site inspection after winter (March-April). It’s important to perform this inspection after winter because during winter months if weather is below freezing, the ground will expand and contract as the ground freezes and thaws, this may cause cracks. The freeze and thaw cycles during winter months can also impact the size of potholes or failed areas. For example, if an area is 4’x 4’ and it goes through a bad winter it may double or triple in size. Once the site inspection is performed, it’s time to budget and create the pavement management plan.

Each parking lot is unique; however, you can expect your maintenance plan to look something like this:

• Crack filling: should be budgeted annually to keep water from entering and damaging pavement
• Sealcoating: Intervals on 2nd year from completion and every 3-4 years
• Patching: Once an area shows sign of failure, have contractor cut and patch.

Start the year off right by getting ahead with your pavement management planning… your parking lot will thank you!

Edison, NJ Milling & Paving Project

One of our last projects of 2021 was a milling & paving project in Edison, NJ. The asphalt parking lots and roadways were cracked and pavement failure was evident. Our team milled the top layer of asphalt, repaired the base layer and installed a new top course. In order to maintain the curb appeal and extend the life of the pavement, we recommended a pavement maintenance plan to the community. By following the maintenance plan (which includes: crackfilling annually and sealcoating every 2-3 years), this community won’t have to worry about milling & paving again for a long time!

We paved the main road of a community in Somerset, NJ and finished the day at over 1,400 tons of asphalt! This community has been diligent with their maintenance and has been continuing to improve their roadways for residents by budgeting to pave a few roads each year. By keeping up with paving, patching, sealcoating and crackfilling, they never have to worry about the safety of their residents because their roadways are always in good condition!