For deciding whether to Crack fill or Crack Seal,
the expected movement of the cracks in the pavement
should be carefully considered.

Generally, “non-working” cracks with moderate
to no edge deterioration should be crack filled.
Non-working cracks typically include longitudinal & diagonal cracks.
Such cracks do not move much due to the close spacing
between the edges.

Crack filling: the placement of materials into non-working cracks
to substantially reduce the infiltration of water and to reinforce the adjacent pavement.   Common materials used for crack filling are non-rubberized products such as AC-3,  asphalt emulsion and crumb rubber.  Crack filling is therefore simply filling the cracks that do not show significant movement.

The “working” / “active” cracks that continue to extend both in size and severity with time and the ravages of the traffic and weather should be crack sealed.

Crack sealants are rubberized products that are used to seal the crack and will flex with the pavement’s movement.  These products are used for “working” cracks that continue to expand both in size and severity with time, freeze thaw cycles and traffic.

The primary function of the above maintenance processes
is to stop the intrusion of water, road salt and debris from entering the pavement sub-base and base courses.

These processes are normally performed prior to the application of seal coating

.