Crack Sealing Improvement Expectations

To get the best life extension from your crack sealing treatment, think in terms of preservation and address minor issues early, before serious, irreversible underlying structural damage occurs. In this way, pavement life can be substantially extended at comparatively low cost.

Of course, crack sealing can be used to address certain pavement distresses in addition to its pavement preservation benefits. In doing so, it is important to understand the life expectancy of the crack treatment decreases as the distress severity increases. Optimal crack sealing performance occurs when the treatment is applied before existing pavement distresses become too severe or widespread.

Many agencies have reported 5 years or more of service life when crack sealing is installed on pavements in good condition. However, when used as a “band-aid”, or as a stop-gap measure on marginal candidates, crack treatments should not be expected to provide more than a few years of service life in order to delay a necessary spend on more invasive maintenance.