Halton Hills - Georgetown: The MoldMasters Sports Plex parking lot has had its yearly repairs and is left for another season of snow removal and winter stress.

"Preventative maintenance for pavement surfaces is essential if you wish to delay the deterioration and extend the service life of the structure. Cracking is one of the most common distress that occurs in asphalt concrete pavements. The presence of cracks on a pavement surface allows moisture to penetrate into the base material, which can cause premature failure of the pavement structure. In order to maximize life expectancy of a pavement it is desirable to minimize the detrimental effects of the cracks. This can be accomplished by treating the cracks prior to extensive deterioration, repairing cracks, or in extreme cases overlaying the pavement."

The Ministry of Transportation's guide to civil engineering ...

The Town of Halton Hills Department  of Engineering and Public Works is responsible for our road repairs. Until recently, for decades Robert Austin headed that department. Now, Halton Hills is currently facing a tarmac repair epidemic of crises proportions due to the neglect, insufficient and in some cases improper road repairs. Richard Henry replaced Robert Austin as Director of Engineering and Public Works and it's evident he's got his hands full just identifying all the areas of neglect, let alone find the resources to address them.

The next time you jump in your car to drive through Halton Hills, take the time look down at the tarmac and chances are very good, if the road is not new, you'll find cracks that should have been repaired before winter sets in. Not treating these cracks leads to increased maintenance cost as the cracks deteriorates. As seen in the pictures above, spalling and potholes are common secondary distresses for untreated cracks. All experts agree, maintenance treatments to fix these distresses can be much more expensive than treatments used to fix the crack initially.