Sable-Asphalt-Akron-Logo-3Sable-Asphalt-Akron-Logo-3Sable-Asphalt-Akron-Logo-3Sable-Asphalt-Akron-Logo-3
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Ohio Asphalt Service Areas
    • The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
    • Our Affiliations
  • Paving Solutions
    • Commercial Concrete Paving
    • Residential Concrete Paving
    • Commercial Asphalt Paving
    • Residential Asphalt Paving
    • Asphalt Paving Maintenance
    • Asphalt Patching and Repair
    • Parking Lot Grading
    • Parking Lot Resurfacing
    • Sealcoating
    • Parking Lot Striping
  • Projects
    • Picture Gallery
    • Paving Clients
  • Ohio Paving Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Call Us Today! 1.800.528.9078
{ "@context" : "http://schema.org", "@type" : "LocalBusiness", "name" : "Sable Asphalt and Concrete", "image" : "https://sableasphalt.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Sable-Asphalt-Akron-Logo-1.jpg", "telephone" : "1.800.528.9078", "email" : "info@sableasphalt.com", "address" : { "@type" : "PostalAddress", "streetAddress" : "1324 Kenmore Blvd", "addressLocality" : "Akron", "addressRegion" : "Northeast Ohio" }, "url" : "https://sableasphalt.com/" }
✕

What Causes Potholes?

  • Home
  • Ohio Paving Blog
  • Maintenance
  • What Causes Potholes?
Make a great first impression with line striping
Bad Pavement Cracks: When Crack Sealing Just Won’t Cut It
February 27, 2018
After winter's worst, potholes can wreck a parking lot.
Assess Your Potholes In The Beginning of Spring
February 28, 2018
Show all

What Causes Potholes?

Categories
  • Maintenance
Tags
  • Asphalt
  • Maintenance
  • Paving
  • Potholes
  • Winter Weather
A pothole

Roads and parking lots often develop deep divots and pockmarks called potholes.

The formation of these potholes is a complex process which can be caused both by nature and by road construction. Most potholes appear in spring, as a result of the freeze/ thaw action that follows winter.

Why asphalt surfaces get potholes?

Roadways are built in layers, starting with compacted earth and gravel for drainage. All layers are covered with asphalt, which is supposed to repel water and redirect it into drains.

Potholes form because asphalt surfaces eventually crack under the heat of the day and the constant stresses of traffic.

The potholes are formed with the following 4 steps:

1. Potholes begin after snow or rain seeps into the soil below the road surface.
2. The moisture freezes when temperatures cool to freezing at night. The water becomes ice, causing the ground to expand and push the pavement up.
3. As temperatures rise, the ground returns to normal level but the pavement often remains raised. This creates a gap between the pavement and the ground below it.
4. When vehicles drive over this cavity, the weight of the traffic causes the pavement surface to crack and fall into the hollow space, leading to the birth of another pothole.

Are potholes dangerous?

Once a pothole forms, it can grow up to a depth of several feet. Potholes put a huge strain on your car’s suspension and shocks. With rain and snow water accelerating the process and creating a trap for vehicles, it can cause expensive damage to a car. Repairing potholes in time can reduce damage to cars and reduce the chance of accidents.

How to fix it?

There are two common repair methods. The first one is called “cold winter mix,” which, as the name implies, is commonly used in winter seasons. It is a temporary fix, where a soft asphalt patch is poured into the pothole after any loose debris is removed. The process is kind of like a dentist filling a cavity. However, the potholes are expected to return in the spring season.
Another more permanent fix is called “hot summer mix.” It uses a combination of road-grade asphalt and aggregate of various materials like sand, gravel, crushed stone, slag, recycled concrete and geosynthetic aggregates, and has to be applied during warm and dry weather. This combination is designed to last for years.

 

Call us (1.800.528.9078) for a free evaluation of your parking lot’s pothole situation, and fix it early before someone holds you liable for damages!

Share

Related posts

Concrete Catch Basin Drain Repair
March 5, 2018

Catch Basin Repair and Rebuilding


Read more



Get in Touch With Us Today

Sable Asphalt & Concrete
741 Tallmadge Rd., Kent, OH 44240 USA

1-800-528-9078
info@sableasphalt.com

Pick a subject:

  • ADA compliance
  • Alligator Cracking
  • Asphalt
  • Asphalt Milling
  • Asphalt Patching
  • Block Cracking
  • Catch Basins
  • Cold Asphalt
  • Concrete
  • Construction
  • Cost-Effective
  • Crack Sealing
  • Crack Sealing. Asphalt
  • Drainage
  • Education
  • Fatigue Cracking
  • Heaving Asphalt
  • Hot Asphalt
  • Line Marking
  • long-term solution

Read a post:

  • Project Profile – Taco Bell
  • Catch Basin Repair and Rebuilding
  • Spring is for Preventative Parking Lot Maintenance
  • A Crack is a Pothole Waiting to Happen
  • Paving Patches and Repairs Explained
Akron and Northeastern Ohio’s Premiere Asphalt & Concrete Company. Call us at 330.745.9585 or 1.800.528.9078

Proudly Servicing the following cities in Ohio: Akron, Canton, Cleveland, Lorain, Elyria, Medina
And the following Counties: Ashland County, Cuyahoga County, Geauga County, Lake County, Lorain County, Medina County, Portage County, Richland County, Stark County, Summit County, Wayne County, Tuscarawas County

© Sable Asphalt & Concrete - All Rights Reserved.
This site uses cookies. Please see our Privacy Policy for details.