Pavement management is the systematic approach to determining the appropriate timing, extent, and priority of asphalt pavement maintenance and rehabilitation in order to improve the condition of your pavement at the lowest possible cost. Prioritizing where and how to spend your limited funds each year becomes easier when you can make a well-informed decision. Your pavement management plan can be as simple or complex as you would like. The following steps can help you develop a systematic approach to pavement management that will extend the life of your asphalt parking lot, roadway, or athletic surface and ultimately reduce costs. Over the next few weeks, this blog series will dive deeper into each of these steps.

 

Step 1 | Information Gathering

Before you can properly manage your pavement, you need to have a good understanding of the details of your pavement, and, if available, a maintenance history of your pavement. Start to gather and document the information you can find about your pavement and store it in one place. If you have multiple pavements you manage, start an inventory document including the details of all your pavements. Search for construction plans, past estimates, or other pavement-related documents containing details such as: property name, property address, the age of the pavement (years), past maintenance (type and date), size/area of the pavement, and/or thickness of the pavement’s asphalt and aggregate base layers.

 

Step 2 | Assess the condition of asphalt pavements

Once you've gathered all the general information about your pavement or network of pavements, the next step is to assess the condition of the pavement(s). Knowing the condition of your pavement is valuable knowledge to help you plan for maintenance and rehabilitation.

 

Additionally, assessing your pavement every year or two will give you a better idea of how your pavement is deteriorating and allow you to plan and budget even further in advance. There are many different methods for assessing asphalt pavements, but make sure you at least document: the date, the types of distresses present, and a general condition rating (good, fair, poor or 10-1). Bonus points for documenting the condition with pictures!

 

Step 3 | Plan and budget for future maintenance and rehabilitation

After assessing your pavement, it will be time to start planning for future maintenance. Based on the assessment of your asphalt pavement, some immediate maintenance may need to be performed to address any safety concerns, like filling potholes. Next, make a plan for the next few years. Your plan should include routine maintenance such as:

●        Pavement assessments every 1-2 years

●        Cracksealing every 2-3 years

●        Patch potholes as soon as they appear

●        Sealcoat surface every 3-7 years (depending on the sealcoat type)

●        Patch fatigue cracking areas every 4-6 years

●        Mill and overlay pavement every 8-12 years

 

Planning for routine maintenance will help preserve your pavement by maximizing its service life.

 

Step 4 | Follow and modify the plan as needed

Stick to the plan! Set reminders on your calendar, and after each pavement assessment, be sure to review and modify your plan as needed. Finally, make sure to call Bituminous Roadways when it's time to perform assessments, maintenance, or rehabilitation.

 

Bituminous Roadways has been performing asphalt pavement maintenance for more than 70 years. Our expert crews will help you assess your asphalt pavement, recommend an appropriate plan of action and execute the maintenance plan. Call us today at 651-686-7001 to set up a site visit in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area or complete our request a consultation form.