Colleges and universities across the country are getting ready to welcome their students back for another year of learning and, let’s be honest, partying. But beware; every one of your students—whether a bright-eyed freshman or a seasoned senior—can wreak havoc on your campus parking lot in a number of ways:

1. Ordering too many things from Amazon: While a campus parking lot is designed to bear the weight of students’ automobiles, it doesn’t fare as well when subjected to pressure caused by heavy delivery trucks. More and more students are taking advantage of the cost-efficiency and convenience of online ordering, causing a nearly constant parade of trucks to drive back and forth across your parking lots and increasing the strain on your pavement.
2. Doing donuts in deserted lots: The friction caused by fast-moving tires heats up the surface of an asphalt parking lot, melting some of the sealant and exposing the surface to damage from outside elements.
3. Clogging the toilets: It’s true: One too many clogged toilets could cause serious damage to your pavement. If a plumbing project becomes big enough, a contractor might be forced to slice into your parking lot pavement to get at underground sewer lines. If the pavement is not carefully excavated and properly replaced, you could end up with a permanently damaged campus parking lot.
4. Heaving heavy metal around: Whether they’re caused by dropping a metal futon frame during move-in day or being careless with a keg while tailgating, chips and cracks can degrade the quality of the pavement, leaving it vulnerable to water damage.
5. Oblivious littering: Littering is bad for both the environment and your parking lot. Debris that blocks gutters and causes water to pool on your pavement can weaken the surface of your parking lot and make it susceptible to serious trouble down the road.
6. Spilling oil: While oil spots themselves don’t do much damage (though they can do some), your efforts to remove these unsightly stains can seriously compromise the integrity of your pavement. For this reason, it’s best to leave the maintenance of your campus parking lot to concrete and asphalt paving professionals who know how to handle these kinds of issues.

Protect Your Campus Parking Lot Pavement from Failure

Yes, parking lots can “fail.” Pavement is given a failing grade if it is determined that spot repairs and overlay treatments aren’t enough to patch up the damage. If your campus parking lot fails, both the base and the pavement surface must be replaced. You can prevent making costly repairs to failed pavement by sticking to a strict maintenance plan that includes sealing and patching holes soon after they appear.

For more information about parking lot care and other paving services, call Pro-Pave, Inc. today at (703) 433-9500.