Crack Seal
Contract-Ready Construction Specification Guidelines
Learn about the benefits of Crack Seal Treatments
Everything slows down. Everything, if left unattended, will deteriorate. Pavement is no exception. Treating pavement at the first signs of distress will help prevent minor deterioration from becoming a major headache. Cracking in pavement is inevitable, and if left untreated, can cause massive failures. To prevent this, crack sealing is used as a cost-effective method to treat all types of cracks greater than ⅛”.
Crack sealing is the process of placing an adhesive sealant into cracks on the pavement surface, preventing the infiltration of moisture and non-compressible materials into the pavement.
Crack sealing has proven to be the lowest-cost pavement preservation treatment available for pavement in a state of good repair. One lane mile of crack sealant saves the equivalent of one barrel of crude oil when compared to hot mix paving. Crack sealing can extend pavement service life up to 5 years, making it a secure and cost-effective way to protect the underlying base.
Crack sealing is inherently a reactive treatment, but it does have preventative qualities as well. When performed early and properly, crack sealing will preserve the structural integrity of the roadway, averting water intrusion into the subbase level, while addressing inevitable flaws.
The ideal time to crack seal is in the spring or fall.
Best Practices
- Assess the type of crack: thermal, longitudinal, block or fatigue cracking, and consider climate to determine the correct sealant product.
- Remove debris and moisture from the crack.
- Rout crack for extended sealant performance.
- Clean and dry surrounding pavement.
- Be sure to seal edge and centerline joints to prevent water penetration.
Pavement Preservation Success
Success Story: Crack Seal
DownloadThe Nicollet County Highway Department (NCHD) in New Ulm, Minnesota, had been treating depressed, transverse and longitudinal cracks by applying a tack coat followed by hot mix asphalt. Costly and labor intensive, this treatment required multiple trucks, a roller, a fairly large crew and daylong traffic interruptions. To provide a long-term repair to the cracks, NCHD elected to install Mastic One® along a roadway heavily trafficked by cars, trucks and large farming vehicles.