Mount Vernon plans to use the chip seal method of road maintenance to save $6,000 per mile than traditional milling of the asphalt and extend the life of the roads chosen for seven to 10 years.
"Part of this is New Gambier Road. We have to pave that about every 10 years. We really can't afford to pave our streets every 10 years, so we did shift seal part of New Gambier Road last time. That's the last time we did chip seal. It's about time to do that again," City Engineer Brian Ball told the Mount Vernon City Council, according to a video of its Jan. 27 meeting.
According to the Ohio Department of Transportation's (ODOT) website, chip sealing is a widely-used preventative maintenance treatment that extends the need for traditional asphalt resurfacing by five to seven years. It also reduces the necessity for crack sealing and enhances skid resistance. ODOT describes the process as involving debris cleaning, hole patching, hot liquid asphalt application, spreading crushed rock, rolling and setting the rock, sweeping excess rock, and potentially applying a fog seal before reapplying pavement markings.
Ball indicated in the meeting video that areas without catch basins could undergo chip sealing. He noted concerns regarding active and future Columbia Gas restoration work areas, stating that delaying until gas company work concludes would result in severely deteriorated asphalt on city streets.
Ball highlighted specific issues on New Gambier Road: drainage problems and a canopy of trees. He said that they will not remove "that beautiful canopy of trees to have a little bit nicer asphalt." The city has conducted major tree trimming with AEP on New Gambier Road and plans drainage improvements with the Street Department where ditch erosion is occurring.
In the video, Ball mentioned a $260,000 project proposed in the city's capital budget for this initiative.
