How Cold Weather Conditions Effects Pavement

As winter ends, we notice the effects on our asphalt. During the winter, temperatures drop, and as we have more precipitation, it can cause damage to the asphalt on our main roads and even more on the side streets and back roads. Once it snows, some protocols are beneficial to the road drivers but not necessarily to the streets themselves. The snowplows’ weight mixed with the ice and snow can cause significant damage, eventually leading to accidents. Once the damage is done, it’s done. Come spring, it’s essential to repair these damages to prevent any accidents from happening. 

The challenging part about repairing roads is that the temperature outside is the deciding factor on whether you can lay asphalt down or not. Ideally, you want to install asphalt when both ground and air temperatures are anywhere between 50 and 90 degrees. Anything below 50 or above 90 can cause a poor pour that will give you issues down the road.

When preparing for the winter roads, there are a few ways to prevent your car from damage. Installing winter tires is an excellent investment to avoid dangerous road conditions such as ice and snow. When driving, make sure to avoid puddles. After the damage is done from the ice and snow, it can cause large potholes. These potholes can look minimal at first glance. Still, they can be deep and cause significant damages to your car, such as tire punctures, bent rims, suspension damage, steering knocked out of alignment, exhaust system damage, and engine damage. Doing these things during the winter can prevent damages until we can get out there once the weather allows us to do so.