Asphalt is a great material for paving roads, parking lots, trails, etc. It’s affordable, recyclable, and long-lasting. With the right construction, it is resilient enough to support millions of drivers on highways every year. Even so, asphalt deteriorates and needs ongoing maintenance to address certain issues. What causes puddles on asphalt?

Poor Pavement Installation

Puddles can form on asphalt pavements if the installation team made mistakes. Improper installation could cause the asphalt to cure improperly, fail to provide enough strength, or warp and create ruts in which rainwater can pool.

Poor Drainage

Similarly, you might see puddles on asphalt pavement if the installation crew failed to grade the pavement for proper drainage. If the surface is too flat or uneven, rainwater will fail to flow steadily and gently toward the ground or a stormwater management system like a catch basin.

Groundwater and Moisture Problems

Groundwater and moisture can seep into the pavement from underneath or above. Groundwater can penetrate the sublayer and cause pavement failure, or rainwater can freeze and thaw withinsurface cracks and widen them. If there is one thing that can damage asphalt the most, it’s water.

Settling Soil

Ultimately, all asphalt pavements sit on the ground. The ground can shift, and when it does, whatever is on top of it will shift, too. Settling soil can cause uneven pavements, leading to puddles on the asphalt and other issues.Asphalt contractors have to stabilize and grade the soil before paving a road or another asphalt surface to avoid shifting soil.

Pavement Deterioration

Asphalt pavements can deteriorate for many reasons. Even when the installation is perfect, UV rays, oils, chemicals, and more will wear out the asphalt and cause it to crumble. Heavy traffic can lead to rutting where tires have traveled over the years. Regular maintenance addresses these issues before pooling watermakes them even worse. In Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania, you can count on Tri-State Paving.

Receive Asphalt Paving Services with Tri-State Paving

Call Tri-State Paving. We’re a seasoned asphalt pavement company based in Maryland and have the experience and knowledge to help you with asphalt, concrete, and hardscaping projects.

We refuse to sell hot air to our customers, and that’s why we have been around for over four decades. We listen, inform, educate then decide what is best for our customers project and budget. If any problems arise during construction we keep our customers updated and respond to make the imperfect perfect.

Our area numbers are:

West Chester: 610.563.9456

Oxford: 610.932.3566

Delaware: 302.757.4100

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Tags: asphalt contractors, asphalt drainage problems, asphalt puddles

This entry was posted on Friday, October 3rd, 2025 at 5:02 pm and is filed under Asphalt Paving. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.