Asphalt Maintenance Tips for Winter Weather in Virginia

How hard winter is on your driveway depends a lot on your elevation. Roanoke averages about 15 inches of snow a year. Blacksburg averages about 23 inches and roughly 122 nights below freezing.

Either way, the damage to asphalt comes mostly from water. It gets into cracks and under the surface, freezes, expands and breaks things loose. Most of what follows is about keeping water out.

Fill cracks before the first hard freeze

Every open crack is a place for water to freeze and expand. Fill your cracks in the fall, while the weather still allows it, and a crack stays a crack instead of becoming a pothole by March.

Clear leaves and debris

Wet leaves and dirt hold moisture against the surface and stop water from running off. Sweep or blow your driveway clear in late fall, and keep it clear through the winter.

Sealcoat in the warm months, not in December

Sealcoat protects asphalt from water, salt and de-icing chemicals, but it needs warm, dry weather to cure. If your driveway is due, get it done before cold weather settles in. The sealcoating page covers how often.

Go easy on de-icer

Use de-icer to loosen the ice, then shovel the slush off. Slush left to sit melts into cracks and refreezes overnight. Calcium chloride and magnesium chloride keep working at lower temperatures than rock salt, so you can use less of them. Sand adds grip without melting anything.