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Top 5 Advantages of Using Cold Mix Asphalt for Pavement Maintenance

Asphalt is a valuable material that can repair potholes and cracks on roads, driveways, and parking lots. It is durable, flexible, and resistant to weather conditions.

However, asphalt requires specialized equipment that heats it before it can be applied. This can be costly for contractors and dangerous for workers.

Cost-Effective

Cold-mix asphalt is less expensive to produce and apply than traditional hot-mix asphalt. This is due to lower production temperatures, which require less energy. It also requires less specialized equipment to operate.

It is ideal for potholes, surface patching, and utility cut repairs in winter or cold climates. This helps reduce traffic congestion and parking lot damage, which leads to cost savings for everyone involved.

Using CMA can help eliminate the need for two steps of a typical pothole repair process, saving on the costs associated with unnecessary labor, road closures, and scheduling. This is especially true for contractors in remote locations. Moreover, improved construction techniques and better crew training can reduce the need to repeat redundant repairs. This also cuts the cost of materials.

Easy to Apply

Thanks to new cold pavement formulas, you don’t need specialized equipment like a warm mix or hot asphalt to repair potholes and other imperfections in your driveway, parking lot, or another asphalt surface. This allows you to take care of these repairs before they worsen and cause accidents or property damage.

Cold mix asphalt, such as the EZ street asphalt, also sets more quickly than warm or hot mix, meaning you can make quick repairs and open the road again in a fraction of the time required for traditional projects. This is especially important when addressing problems that could create serious traffic disruptions or safety concerns for motorists on busy roads.

Weather-Resistant

Cold mix asphalt can repair minor damages to pavements like potholes and cracks. It can prevent these imperfections from becoming bigger and requiring more expensive repairs.

While warm mix asphalt can only be applied when temperatures are high enough to allow the aggregate and bitumen to bind properly, cold asphalt mixtures offer an alternative solution. These asphalt mixtures can be used in cold weather and remote areas where heating equipment is unavailable.

This allows you to fix your road or parking lot sooner and avoid costly delays caused by waiting for the temperature to rise. It also means you can save on energy costs by not heating the asphalt before applying it.

Versatile

Unlike hot-mix asphalt, cold-mix asphalt does not require expensive, high-technology equipment. Moreover, it saves energy and transportation fees since there is no need to heat the material before applying it to the pavement surface.

Using cold mix asphalt for repairs and patches allows road maintenance crews to address minor issues like potholes before they get bigger quickly. This can help prevent injuries to drivers and pedestrians while keeping road closures minimal.

In addition, cold-mix asphalt can be easily applied to frozen surfaces. This makes it ideal for winter patching when ice can cause pavement damage and make roads unsafe for motorists. Using a cold-patch asphalt formula and proper compaction can help to create a semi-permanent repair that will last until the weather warms up again.

Environmentally Friendly

With most countries striving for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction goals, using CMA in road construction and maintenance can help to achieve these targets. The production process for CMA uses lower temperatures than HMA, which leads to energy savings. Additionally, applying CMA does not require specialized heated equipment and can be transported at ambient temperatures, reducing costs.

A water-based binder makes it environmentally friendly compared to solvent-based asphalt binders commonly used for HMA production and application. In addition, CMA’s low manufacturing and application temperatures make it safer to work with than HMA, resulting in fewer workplace injuries. This is especially important when working in remote areas with limited access to hot-mix asphalt plants.

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