When you start gathering information from an asphalt paving contractor about building a new pavement, you will probably ask a number of questions. How much will it cost to build the pavement, and how long will it take? How often should sealcoating be applied, and when should the first application take place? What is a proactive asphalt maintenance and repair plan? These are all questions that your contractor can answer with relative ease. However, more than likely, you also want to know how long your new pavement will last, and that question can be a bit more complicated to answer.
Why Is It Difficult to Estimate the Expected Life of Asphalt Paving?
Every experienced Atlanta asphalt paving contractor knows that there can be many differences between pavements that appear almost identical. For example, suppose there are two parking lots of identical size. One parking lot is reserved for passenger vehicles, but the second lot also allows tractor-trailers to drive and park on the pavement. Typically, asphalt companies would estimate a longer life for the first parking lot than for the second one. However, to achieve its full life expectancy, any pavement needs proactive asphalt repair and an effective preventive maintenance plan. Since it is impossible to be certain about how a pavement will be treated or mistreated after it is installed, asphalt paving Atlanta contractors typically estimate the minimum and maximum life of a specific pavement. Keep in mind, however, that these estimates could be inaccurate if the pavement is given exceptional care, totally neglected, or given sporadic attention.
What Are the Estimated Life Expectancies for Different Asphalt Paving Projects?
Most paving companies Atlanta businesses trust base their estimates on three assumptions, which are:
1. The asphalt company installs the pavement correctly.
2. The actual traffic will correspond to the weights and volume for which the pavement was engineered.
3. The pavement will receive at least some asphalt repair and maintenance throughout its life.
Based on the above assumptions, here are the estimated life expectancies for some popular asphalt pavements.
• Parking lots should last between 15 and 25 years. The longer estimate is for lots that only support passenger vehicles, have sealcoating applied periodically, and receive timely asphalt repair to mend potholes and cracks.
• Highways can last anywhere from 10 to 20 years. Rural roads that receive light traffic should last between 15 and 20 years, but interstates and other high-traffic highways will usually need resurfacing every 10 to 15 years.
• Streets in urban areas can last from 15 to 25 years. If the street lies within a gated community that limits the type and weight of vehicles given access, it can last 20 to 25 years. If it is a busy, mixed-use thoroughfare, the life expectancy is usually between 15 and 20 years.
• Residential driveways are one of the hardest types of pavements to estimate a life expectancy. Some driveways can last more than 30 years, but most Atlanta asphalt paving companies expect a residential drive to last between 20 and 25 years.
The Surface Masters would be happy to answer any additional questions you might have about asphalt repair, paving maintenance, or paving. We offer an extensive selection of services, including asphalt resurfacing and paving, asphalt crack repair, parking lot striping, asphalt patching and pothole repair, pavement markings, and concrete repair and construction. The Surface Masters is a highly respected Atlanta paving company with a remarkable reputation for exceptional quality, extraordinary customer attention, and professional project management. We offer free quotes, so submit the online form to request yours today. If you would rather, you can call our office at 770-250-6392, or you can send an email to Info@TheSurfaceMasters.com.
