Repairing cement sidewalk with asphalt

[Guv Bob]

Up until this year the city repaired sidewalks that had been pushed up by tree roots by breaking up sections and pouring new cement. This year they started patching them up by laying down asphalt, and then pouring what looks like cement on top while it's still hot, smoothing it out and then sweeping off the excess. It blends in fine and seems to be OK, but I'm wondering how long the cement overlayer will last.

It's been a good 3 weeks now, and new cement dust still comes up each time I sweep. I have hesitated hosing it off thinking I may end up with asphalt patches.

Does this sound like normal or did the city not do it right?

[philoÂÂ]

I don't know what the coating is but I'm guess it's not cement. As the tree roots expand, the asphalt should expand with it and possibly allow the sidewalk to remain smooth rather than crack. It will bulge of course but from a safety standpoint at least leave no edges to trip over.

Did they do it right?

You will find out over then next few years.

[nestork]

If there is new concrete dust every time you sweep, then that concrete hasn't cured properly. By now it should be hard as a rock.

Maybe take a sponge and bucket of water and clean that concrete with a wet sponge. See if any of the concrete transfers to the sponge and the water in the pail gets clowdy. If so, then it's not cured, and won't if it hasn't by now. Maybe contact your city's Works & Operations Department if you find that the concrete hasn't cured properly.

[Guv Bob]

smoothing it

By now the loose power is gone and there's enough concrete covering the asphalt so that it blends in close enough with the original sidewalk. Looks fine now, but from seeing old patches around here, I expect the thin concrete layer to wear off and leave an asphalt surface. Better than broken sidewalks, but I don't see why they could not have used all concrete in the first place.