Better Roads Staff As highway agencies have migrated to a
prevention-first philosophy of road management, emphasis on
crack treatment has grown. The process is inexpensive and has
been shown to extend pavement life by two years and often more.
Galehouse considers crack treatment an important tool in the
pavement manager’s toolbox. “There are two approaches,” he says.
“Crack sealing is a series of steps that first machines a
reservoir in the crack, cleans the reservoir with compressed
air, and then fills it with sealant. This approach can be very
effective when used on the right pavement at the right time.”
Galehouse estimates that crack sealing typically extends
pavement life at least two to four years. Crack filling, a
process in which debris is blown out of the crack and the crack
is filled with sealant, is used for nonworking cracks and wider
cracks. Galehouse says crack filling typically adds about two
years to the life of a pavement. “Both of these processes are
pothole preventers,” he says. “And the lon