It's no doubt that asphalt can be a versatile, smooth, and durable material for your pavement. The good news is you can design your asphalt pavements to withstand heavy trucks and any other kind of load. If you do this, you can expect your asphalt pavement to last up to 18 years. If you want the asphalt to last longer, you should consider regular maintenance. If you need help with repair and maintenance, you can talk to an experienced asphalt paving company. Here are types of asphalt damage you should know: 

Raveling and Spalling

The first form of asphalt damage is raveling. Over time, water and ice can seep into the cracks of your asphalt, freeze, expand, and turn into small pieces that may litter your parking lots or driveways. 

Proper planning and installation are the two most important factors that can keep moisture from seeping into your asphalt, thus preventing raveling and spalling. During the construction phase, you need to make sure you incorporate proper drainage systems into your new pavement.

Cracking

Large crack patterns are usually the result of settling. The two most common causes of cracking are moisture infiltration in the base and settlement due to poor compaction. However, these cracks can also occur due to sub-base issues, frost heave, and freeze-thaw cycles, as well as improper installation procedures.

You can prevent moisture infiltration by keeping the area around your project clear of any debris, especially in winter months when water can freeze on top of grass or sand, causing pressure to build up underneath your asphalt. It would help if you also made sure that there isn't any pooling underneath your asphalt. This will keep water from seeping in and settling into your project, which can lead to more cracking.

 Shifting

Shifting refers to sections of asphalt being lifted or sunken. This is a problem that can occur due to improper compaction on the part of your contractor. For example, if there are too many voids in your base, the gravel or sand won't get appropriately compacted, which can cause these significant shifts.

There are two ways to avoid this. One is by ensuring that your contractor uses a tamper machine during installation and compaction of the base. Tamper machines allow the contractor to pack down all of those voids underneath the asphalt, offering you a quality base with no moving parts. 

Asphalt can be superb for your pavement construction, but you need to get it done correctly to avoid possible issues. If you need asphalt repair services, do not hesitate to contact a local asphalt paving company.