How to Tell if Tree Roots Are About to Damage Pavement
Shade trees lining a street look beautiful, but the roots on those trees can create a lot of damage. Fast-growing trees with aggressive, lateral root systems can upend anything around them. That increases the chances that someone will trip, leading to injury and even legal problems.
Identifying damage early on allows you to fix the problem before it becomes too big. Some clues are obvious, but others are subtle. Learning what to look for is essential if you want to stop tree roots from becoming a hazard.
Buckled Pavement
The most obvious clue is seeing the sidewalk or lot buckling. Asphalt or slabs of concrete can rise up, forming cracked lumps over the roots.
Note that these damaged areas don’t have to be right next to a tree trunk. Tree roots can spread over a substantial distance. If you see buckled concrete or asphalt, the cause can be roots extending from a tree several feet away.
Small Cracks
Small cracks in asphalt can indicate tree root problems even if there are no visible bumps in the surface. When roots grow under pavement/asphalt, they displace soil and start to press on the paved area above them. When the roots are still small, they can push up just enough to cause the asphalt to crack a tiny bit.
Shallow Depressions
Asphalt is actually rather flexible and can move a little bit before failing. When tree roots start to push up the asphalt, they can raise the material ever so slightly without cracking it yet. That creates tiny depressions in the surface that trap water.
If you walk over the asphalt after rain and see small puddles within a few feet of the edge of the lot, those could be signs of tree root problems. You’ll want to have the underlying soil checked for stability, too, just in case something else, like erosion, is the cause.
Separating Slabs
Small roots can cause two adjacent sidewalk slabs to separate if those roots grow near joints. One slab might rise higher than the other, or both could begin to tilt up, forming a small hill.
Shifted or Dried-out Soil Next to Paved Area
A very subtle clue that a tree root is about to mess with a sidewalk or parking lot is when the soil at the edge of the paved area looks unusually dry. It might also look as if it’s shifted slightly.
Abnormalities like that can indicate tree root problems because roots suck up moisture in the soil. The remaining dried-out soil may shift, leading to a lack of support for the paved area. Even if you don’t see any cracks now, the potential exists for the paved area to crack or cave in.
If you suspect some tree roots are about to damage the asphalt in your parking lot or the sidewalk outside your building, experts can help. Call CBC Lawn & Tree when you need commercial tree care services in Lancaster, SC and the surrounding areas.