Flexible footpaths, footways and cycle tracks can become relatively brittle with age. An aged asphalt surface may be prone to damage during utility or highway works so a collaborative approach is recommended to develop solutions agreeable to all parties. The authority might agree to meet the costs of reinstating an area of surfacing greater than that which would be required in normal circumstances. A joint site walkover is recommended.
Figure NG2.3 provides guidance on how to assess the surface condition and establish if it is visibly distressed.
The undertaker should include which specification requirement (or requirements) may not be achieved and the respective reasons for each non-compliance. Some of the non-compliances that the undertaker should record may be:
- modification of method of compaction during reinstatement works owing to evident cracking of the adjacent surfacing or lack of confinement offered by the surrounding structure;
- difficulty in achieving edge regularity owing to adjacent surface cracking and breaking;
- any post construction performance requirements that may not comply during the guarantee period, for example edge depression or surface regularity.
