Roads are designed to be durable and hard wearing, with a life expectancy of up to 40 years depending on the material used to create them. But all roads eventually degrade and need repairing, whether this is because of weather conditions, general wear and tear or damage from road traffic accidents.

At Minster, we’re on hand to repair roads across the country – whether it’s a full resurfacing job or emergency patch repair. Our expert contractors handle every stage of road repair, from surveying through to line marking, and we’re on hand 24/7 to ensure unexpected road damage is repaired as soon as possible.

So what actually causes road damage in the first place? What impact does this have? And how do we fix it?

How does the weather impact road damage?

The weather plays a big part in the road damage process, as varying hot and cold temperatures cause the road to heat up and cool down, which can cause cracks. Wet, cold weather can then cause further damage by turning these cracks into potholes. 

The initial road damage is generally caused by the friction between car tyres and the tarmac, as this is what causes the road to heat up and subsequently expand. Over time, this can lead to the formation of cracks in the road surface and rainwater is able to seep into these cracks.

Then, when the weather is cold, the rainwater can freeze and as it turns into ice it expands, pushing against the cracks and widening them. When the temperatures go above freezing again, the water melts and leaves behind larger cracks called divots. 

When vehicles drive over divots, the weight can push the top layer of the road into the space created by the divot, leaving a hole in the surface – aka a pothole.

How does road debris damage affect cars?

When roads aren’t kept in a good condition, this can affect road users and their vehicles by causing both cosmetic damage to the vehicle and damage that affects its functionality. 

For example, if potholes aren’t repaired in a timely manner, they can get deeper and wider, causing severe damage to tyres, wheels and suspension. Driving over a pothole at speed can cause tyre punctures, sidewall bulges or even blowouts, which can be very dangerous. The impact can also cause wheels to bend or crack, as well as misaligning suspension components and steering.

And it’s not just potholes that cause vehicle damage – road damage debris can fly up and cause chips or cracks in the windscreen, as well as scratches and dents on the vehicle’s body or paint. Debris can also be flung underneath the vehicle, leading to damaged exhaust systems, axles and other essential components.

So all in all, it’s very important that road damage gets repaired as soon as possible to avoid costly damage for road users and potentially dangerous accidents. 

How to fix road damage

At Minster, we work closely with councils across the UK and leading international partners to perform road resurfacing works, emergency patch repairs and pothole repairs. 

When roads need repairing, we remove the damaged surface and replace it with a new surface. The first step in doing this is to remove the top layer of old asphalt in a process known as planing, using specialist machines to break up the old, damaged road surface. 

After planing, we sweep the road with industrial sweepers to make sure any leftover debris is picked up and the surface is nice and smooth, ready for the new surface to be laid.

We then spray the surface with a bitumen bond coat which helps the new surface adhere to the old surface. It also seals the substrate to prevent water getting in and causing more road damage in the future.

After this, we can get to work laying the new road surface. To start with, we lay the sub-base which is the main load-bearing layer of the road, usually made up of materials like crushed stone, gravel or recycled concrete. Then, the new asphalt is laid on top of the sub-base using a paving machine and rolled with a road roller, to compact it and ensure the surface is smooth and even to drive on.

Finally, we re-paint any road markings and replace the road studs, so the road can be reopened to traffic and normal service can resume as soon as possible.

We do all of this in the most sustainable way possible, using cutting edge technology to recycle old, damaged surfaces into new, shiny ones whenever we can. For large resurfacing and repair jobs, we can do this right there on site, and for smaller jobs we return the old material to our HQ and recycle it there, ready for use on other infrastructure projects. 

If you’d like our support with road damage repairs, or would like to find out more about our services, get in touch with our team today.