Section 4: Preventive Maintenance Guidelines
Importance of Preventive Maintenance
An effective preventive maintenance program should include
periodic application of preventive maintenance treatments. In order
to be cost-effective, preventive maintenance should be performed before
pavements display significant amounts of distress. Pavements with
extensive cracking, potholes and patches or unstable asphalt concrete
may not be good candidates for preventive maintenance, but may be
considered for reconstruction.
Flexible Pavement Preventive Maintenance
Several types of treatments can be used for pavement preventive
maintenance. Options for flexible pavements follow:
- Crack sealis an application of sealing material directly in the cracks of the pavement surface to prevent moisture damage.
- Fog sealis bitumen materials sprayed directly on the surface of the existing pavement. This treatment enriches the surface of the pavement edges and can prevent the loss of aggregates and seal coat.
- Seal coatis a spray application of binder immediately covered by a single layer of one-sized aggregates. Seal coat can be placed in either single or multiple layers.
- Thin hot-mixoverlaysare similar to conventional overlays except the thickness is 2 inches or less. Generally, thin hot-mix overlays can correct irregularities that cannot be corrected with most other types of preventive maintenance.
Options for Rigid Pavements
Fewer preventive maintenance options are available for rigid
pavements. Generally, joint seals and crack seals are the options
for jointed concrete pavement. Joints should be inspected routinely
and should be maintained to exclude foreign material to preserve
the integrity of the joint. Voids under the pavement can be filled
with a grout material. For rapidly deteriorating continuously reinforced concrete
pavement, the slab failure should be repaired and a thin overlay
may be applied.