DELTA COUNTY, Mich. (WZMQ) – The Delta County Road Commission has begun seasonal work designed to preserve local roadways.
Every year after the Fourth of July, the Road Commission begins two weeks of chip sealing.
“If you ever see a newly paved road and they’re nice and black, and then in a year or two, they’re turning grey, that’s the road already deteriorating,” said Managing Director Dean Forslund. “On the paved roads, we put a chip seal over it that keeps the oils into the road. In some places, we go over gravel roads as well. That takes care of grading problems and dust control problems.”
Crews have already finished chip sealing in Maple Ridge Township, and they have started work in Baldwin Township. Next, they plan to move on to Cornell and Bark River. According to Forslund, chip sealing is a less expensive way to maintain roads than paving.
“You can do a road every five to seven years,” he explained. “Some roads will get a little bit longer. If we do a gravel road, that’s usually a double seal. That should be sealed one more time, like within three years, and then it can go back into that normal rotation. You probably get 20 years. The overall lifespan’s about the same, but there’s a little more maintenance. It’s $135,000 for a mile of paved road versus $17,000 for a mile of seal coat, so it’s a pretty easy decision for a lot of townships.”
Chip sealing is the work the Road Commission receives the most calls about.
“Typically, the roads will be broomed off and cleaned up the day before or the same day,” Forslund said. “Then, you’ll see oil distributors coming in and spraying oil emulsion on the road, and then the chips are applied to that emulsion and rolled. We’re in and out of an area pretty quick, but it is messy afterwards.”
However, Forslund says it is a temporary inconvenience that pays off in the long run.
“Usually, give it a day or two, and then we’ll come and sweep the excess stone off,” he said. “That’s the biggest complaint we get, that it’s dusty, it’s dirty, there are stones flying. Give it a month or two, and it’ll settle down. A lot of people don’t even realize they live on a chip seal road.”
While chip sealing is underway, other summer projects continue.
“We’re keeping up with the grading on the gravel roads, chloriding for dust control, ditching,” said Forslund. “A lot of brushing. There’s always trees to cut.”
As for motorists who come across crews working on the roads this summer, Road Commission reminds them to use caution.
“We have lots of lights and signs out, but motorists still don’t slow down,” Forslund said. “We’ve had close calls already here, just yesterday. People really need to take their time and be mindful when they see a work zone.”
