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!
