Winter has settled into the United States quite nicely this year. 2018 has come into existence with a bit of a boom in regards to freezing temperatures and winter storms. Winter weather presents several challenges for us, because it’s more difficult to pave in very cold temperatures. But we do have quite a lot of asphalt maintenance work going on throughout the winter months. Today we want to describe how cold tar patching works and how it patches asphalt cracks to help prevent potholes during winter.

Cold Tar Patching in Chicago

Cold tar patching is a type of asphalt that is created using special polymers that make it easy to use regardless of winter’s frigid temperatures. This makes quick emergency repairs possible, even during winter. Cold tar patch asphalt is sticky, soft, and pliable. It doesn’t require special tools past a shovel and a heavy object for tamping. Pour or shovel the soft patch asphalt into the crack or small pothole and tamp it down, and it’s good to go. No heat required.

Prepare the Area for Cold Patch Asphalt

Normal asphalt patching requires routing, mixing, pouring, tamping, and sealing. Cold tar patch doesn’t require any of that (except tamping of course) and may even be used in standing water. This is truly the easiest patch for cold weather.

No Reason to Divert Traffic

Traffic helps tamp the cold tar patch asphalt down into the cracks, so there’s no reason to divert traffic away from the affected area. You can allow traffic as normal within minutes of applying cold patch, and not worry so much about the crack spreading and causing a horrible pothole.

Pavement Maintenance to Prevent Potholes in Chicago

Pavement maintenance is one of our biggest sellers here at Rapco Asphalt Maintenance. If you own a stretch of pavement that is subject to potholes throughout the year, give us a call. We’ll help by repairing cracks before they break into alligator style cracks and eventually become potholes. Call us at 847-299-1830 to schedule an appointment for a consultation or a free parking lot evaluation.