What Is the Most Effective Method for Repairing Large Potholes in High Traffic Areas?

Potholes are the bane of drivers everywhere, but one of the most difficult things about getting them fixed is dealing with patchwork when you’ve got a big pothole in a high-traffic area of Philadelphia, PA. You can’t just stop traffic forever: what do you do? Call us at PowerSurge Plus, where we can get that done efficiently and effectively.

Most Effective Patchwork for Potholes in High-Traffic Philadelphia, PA Areas

Not all potholes come from the same issue, but when you’ve got a massive one and it’s in a high-traffic area, there’s often an underlying issue like a weak sub base or poor drainage.

Full-Depth Patching with Hot Mix Asphalt

Full-depth patching with a hot mix is almost always going to be the most reliable fix. That’s because it’s not just a bandage thrown over the top but a kind of surgical response that actually removes the damaged layers down to where you have a stable base and then rebuilds fresh layers on top. It’s the industry standard because it actually addresses the root cause and gives you a strong and flexible surface that can handle traffic and weather.

Cold Patching

Cold patching simply isn’t a great fix for high-traffic areas, and it’s never recommended except in situations where you have an emergency and have to get something thrown on there as quickly as possible. A cold patch simply doesn’t handle a high-traffic spot very well and will fail in a few months. However, if there’s an emergency need, this could be the right choice.

Mill Patching

Mill patching is a bit of a compromise between a cold patch and a full-depth patch. In this case, you remove only the top layer and lay on some fresh asphalt. This is definitely a better fix than cold patching, but it is inferior to a full-depth patching. It will offer decent durability even in a high-traffic area, but only if you’re talking about a surface-level pothole.

The problem is that large potholes tend to be much deeper than just surface level, though not always. Sometimes a pothole is large not so much because it’s deep but because it covers so much area, and in that case, ​mill patching may work well.

Steps for Full-Depth Patching

We’ll first prepare the area by marking the pothole and cutting straight, vertical edges around it that go about a foot past the damage on all sides. Then we will excavate down until we find a sound base material. On average, this means we’ve got to go about 4 inches or so down.

Then we will thoroughly clean out the whole, compact the subbase if it’s been disturbed, apply a tack coat, and then fill the whole and compact it. Then a sealant goes around the edges to make sure water can’t get in.

Whether you’re facing an emergency that has to be fixed today or want a long-term fix that will really hold, contact us at PowerSurge Plus in Lansdale, PA now for service anywhere in PA and the tristate area.

Tags: asphalt repair, Pothole Repair
Posted in Pothole Repair, PowerSurge Plus Service | No Comments »