The Pavement Life Cycle

Asphalt pavements, like everything, have a life cycle.

They start out new, they age, and eventually they decline to the point where they need to be replaced. How long pavement lasts depends on a variety of factors, including how well they are constructed initially, the weather, the amount and weight of traffic, and—most importantly—how well they are maintained.

A well-constructed asphalt pavement that experiences low levels of traffic can last 25 years or more. That life can be substantially extended—and provide a greater return on your pavement investment—if proper maintenance is performed on a regular, timely basis. Maintenance options are outlined in detail, complete with photos, in our Saving the Paving Handbooks, but the most-common maintenance options are sealcoating, crack sealing, patch paving, and asphalt overlay.

While it’s essential to have a contractor evaluate your pavement to determine its specific maintenance needs, a pavement’s life cycle falls into five broad stages. Determining where you fall in the life cycle is a fairly straightforward process, and using these five stages you can get some idea of the types of maintenance you will need.


Stage 1

New Pavement

Little or no maintenance required

Stage 2

Initial Preventive Maintenance Phase 

Typical maintenance procedures include initial sealcoating, crack sealing

Stage 3

Minor Repairs and Continued Preventive Maintenance

Typical maintenance procedures include some patch repairs, crack sealing, second sealcoating

Stage 4

Major Repairs

Typical maintenance procedures include extensive patching repairs, asphalt overlay, third sealcoating

Stage 5

Extensive Repairs or Complete Reconstruction

Typical maintenance procedures include major repairs throughout the community or complete removal and replacement of the asphalt


Watch our “Pavement Life Cycle” video

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