Part of the regular maintenance of commercial real estate is the upkeep of roadways. Ensuring tenant and client safety by keeping roadways clear of cracks, potholes, or breaks in pavement leaves little room for injury or vehicular damage. However, avoiding these issues from the start can be more cost-effective than constant patching or surface-level repair of damages.
Potholes are dips or holes in the asphalt roadway. These holes can be large or small when first noticed, but will always get larger thanks to the way that erosion works. Potholes form as a result of water leaking in through small cracks in the asphalt or pavement. This is due to old or weakened asphalt. Vehicles drive over the cracks again and again further deepening the cracks and the water seepage. After some time, the water, pressure, and cracks will cause pieces of the asphalt to come loose forming a pothole.
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Potholes usually appear most readily in spring. The roadways have likely been exposed to salt over the winter months thanks to plowing and de-icing. The residual salt lowers the temperature that water will freeze, creating a hazardous artificial freeze-thaw cycle during the colder months. The water freezes in the cracks and under the roadway, expanding areas underneath into larger holes. When it melts, larger spaces than before leave surfaces weak to crumble under the pressure of vehicles on the roadway. Leading into the actual freeze-thaw cycle of spring weather, contractions continue to crack and weaken pavement that has water breached cracks.
Potholes can cause injury or damage to both pedestrians and vehicles. Pedestrians can trip and fall when crossing roadways. Vehicles have been known to pop a tire or sometimes even be partially submerged in a very deep pothole. Sometimes lawsuits are the result of pothole damages. Clients and tenants alike will find little value in commercial properties that continually cause damage to their person or their property.
Patching potholes is the bane of both cities and commercial property owners. This patching process is never-ending because it does not fix the issue at hand, hence, patching rather than fixing. When patching, it is known that the process is temporary and will eventually falter. This is not a cost-effective solution and should be considered against long-term budgetary parameters by property managers.
A more permanent fix is to remove the entire compromised area and replace the damaged base. Using a hot mix asphalt, the roadway base and surface are repaired. One way to try to avoid this lengthy process is to perform routine maintenance on asphalt surfaces. Performing routine maintenance and fills can prevent low spots and cracks from forming potholes. Regular assessment and evaluation of property asphalt can catch changes before they become a problem.
Commercial real estate property owners and property management teams can continue to provide client and tenant safety while avoiding any injuries by preventing potholes before they form with proactive measures. Contact Monarch Landscape to provide commercial properties with a safe and long-term solution for potholes.
