How’s Your New Asphalt Pavement Holding Up in This Weather?

The mixture of freezing rain, ice, snow, and the melting of it all combines to damage asphalt surfaces in Arkansas. When paved surfaces freeze and thaw, the street or driveway contracts and then expands, often within just a short period.

Melting Snow and Ice Damages Arkansas Asphalt Surfaces

This rapid change in condition of the asphalt — plus all that water seeping into new cracks and between the base and the paving —  can result in severe deterioration of your asphalt cement pavement.

If the damage is compounded by repeated storms such as the one we are experiencing this week, you could be facing expensive repair work … or replacement of the surface.

Having a reputable contractor do your paving job right for you the first time helps. In the prep stage, through the asphalt paving process, you are more assured that your surfacing is packed and rolled as it should be, ready to face the challenges from winter’s freezing rain, sleet, thawing snow, and ice.

Last year, Arkansas experienced the most rainfall in a century, making 2009 the wettest year ever. Just drive on some of our roadways and streets and the impact is evident. Deep potholes, erosion on shoulders of the roads and large cracks create a long “to do” list for public road and street repair crews.

For private residential developers and commercial retail and office space developers, the weather wreaking havoc on existing streets, parking areas, and entrances helps to remind you to plan carefully for your paving projects.

If you see a paving bid that looks “too good to be true,” just ask yourself if that person will really do the best site prep work before the asphalt is mixed and takes care in every step of paving your project. That expert work on the front end can save you thousands … perhaps tens of thousands of dollars … in a short time.

The repairs or repaving of severely damaged pavement is much more expensive than investing a bit more at the start for a much higher quality of work the first time.

It’s the first of February and that pesky groundhog will probably see his shadow and we’ll be seeing weeks more of this late Southern winter … give us a call now to get an estimate on your new paving project or to get an expert’s opinion on the damage your parking areas or entrances have suffered this winter.

One of the critical aspects of any contractor project is safety.

At Maxwell Galt, Arkansas’s asphalt paving experts, our concern for safety starts with our team who operates the big equipment. We have worked near family homes, hospitals, schools, and shopping centers and take safety very seriously.

Paving rollers, backhoes, road graters, and other construction machinery is huge, weighs tons and dwarfs a normal family car or pick-up truck.

Two Maxwell Galt equipment operators have more than 20 years of experience … each … with Maxwell Galt. There are no “on the job training” interns at the controls of our equipment on your work site.

One of the biggest advantages of contracting with Maxwell Galt for your asphalt paving project is our longtime, dedicated team. You can rely on our experience, having seen all kinds of situations in our 50 combined years of working on paving projects from day one to finished. In hauling the equipment to the job site, we take extra care to be safe and courteous to others on the road.

We have hauled rollers and backhoes to road and parking lot paving jobs all over Central Arkansas. On the highways to Stuttgart, Searcy, Conway, Pine Bluff, Hot Springs, Sherwood, Sheridan, Malvern, Lonoke, England, Cabot or here in North Little Rock and Little Rock, getting to and from our work safely is really important.

Working near other contractors’ employees at construction sites, surprises might distract a less experienced heavy equipment operator … not Maxwell Galt operators. We  have pretty much seen it all.

You can feel much more confident about having a safe work zone with Maxwell Galt on your job site.

As a father of a young son, I make safety a priority for me, for our team, and for our customers. With a 59-year company history behind Maxwell Galt, you can depend on us to be here now … and long after your job is completed.

How do you know what to ask when choosing an asphalt contractor?

Having your residential subdivision entrance, streets, and drives paved is a big job. And your entrance is the “first impression” that home builders, potential home buyers, and neighbors have of your development.

On commercial projects, the parking lots are important to retailers, restaurants, banks, and service providers who are considering signing leases with you.

These are key tips on what to ask a paving company before you accept a bid:

1. Ask for the contractor’s license … and check it with the state or verify the certificate personally.

One phone call can save you loads of problems and thousands of dollars if the “low price” guy does not have a current contractor’s license. Every licensed contractor must submit specific documentation and qualify according to Arkansas state licensing regulations.

2. Ask how long the company has been in business.
Instead of asking how long the individual has been in business, ask about the company.  The most reputable paving companies in Arkansas have been in business a very long time. Maxwell Galt has been continuously paving asphalt in Arkansas for almost 60 years. It’s one thing to have business experience of some kind … what you need is a company with asphalt paving experience specifically.

3. Ask about the experience of the crew that will actually do the paving work on your job site. Maxwell Galt paving equipment operators have 20 years of asphalt paving and construction experience — each. All of those years are with one Arkansas asphalt paving company … that’s right, Maxwell Galt. When a team has been with a paving company that long — you know the team is great and the company is stable.

4. Ask if the company has worked on a variety of projects. Every situation is different, problems can pop up from the most unlikely things … weather, drainage, site grade, neighboring property runoff, other contractors. When an asphalt concrete paving company has worked on projects as large as a Walmart Supercenter with a deep set-back from the fronting roadway to residential subdivision projects with many cuts and turns to be made, you can be assured that the crew anticipates and solves problems that occur. Companies with less experience overall and on their crews take longer to solve problems and get the job done.

5. Ask if you will work with the company owner. Many larger companies hand over the job to a “project manager.” This is what really large paving companies that have offices all over the South have to do. Since 1951, Maxwell Galt has been owned privately and owner-managed. This makes a difference to you because you don’t have to wait to talk to a decision-maker.

Our crew has 40 years of experience with our company so our trust in them is rock solid. The Maxwell Galt team on your job site have the expertise to work through any situation that arises … you and they know that the owner is immediately responsive.

Just ask those questions of any company that’s submitting a proposal to do your paving work and you will see a difference right away.

With a team that’s second to none in the Arkansas asphalt concrete paving business, Judd Herring, who owns Maxwell Galt, enjoys the confidence of working with you and other clients to prepare the very best estimates to secure your business and communicating project reports for you after the work starts … until it is finished.

All aspects of our paving work for you meets Maxwell Galt’s high standards and will meet your quality expectations as well.  Call Judd Herring today for a free estimate on your asphalt paving construction project. 501.372.02222