San Joaquin County Department of Public Works Periodic Chip Seal Road Maintenance Program

Location

Various locations throughout San Joaquin County

City or County Responsible for Project

San Joaquin County (Department of Public Works)

Category

Roads: Efficient and Sustainable Road Maintenance, Construction and Reconstruction Projects.

Author

Jim Stone

Organization

San Joaquin County

Address

1810 East Hazelton Avenue, Stockton, CA 95205

Phone

(209) 468-3031

Project Description

San Joaquin County’s In-house Chip Seal Program (Program) allows the County to extend the life of its roads in a cost effective manner which leads to improving the overall quality and preservation of the road system. The Department of Public Works (SJCPW) has a 7-year cycle for chip sealing selected roadways. Roads are designated for the Chip Sealing program based on road conditions and traffic volumes. Roads may be chip sealed twice within a 20-year period. After the second chip seal application, roads are evaluated for more extensive rebuilding in future maintenance efforts. Yearly, the Chip Seal Program affects 120 miles of County roads. The Program involves team members in SJCPW Engineering and Road Maintenance working together to assess the conditions of roads and identify road segments that are good candidates for chip sealing. The cost to conduct chip sealing on the road segments selected is included in the annual budget request submitted to the County Board of Supervisors for approval. In February of each year, SJCPW Road Maintenance Division schedules roads that will be chip sealed in the upcoming summer for crack sealing. By crack sealing, SJCPW reduces the impact of water intrusion that could affect the road base. In July of each year, SJCPW Road Maintenance Division starts the actual chip sealing process. Those road segments that were crack sealed in the spring are chip sealed. Chip sealing uses the same ingredients as asphalt concrete paving, or overlay, but the construction methods are different. With chip seal, a thin film of heated asphaltic emulsion is evenly sprayed on the road surface, followed by the placement of ¼-inch angular chip rock. The chips are then compacted using rollers to orient the chips for maximum adherence to the asphalt. Any excess stone is swept from the surface after application of chips to remove loose chips that can cause damage to passing cars. Road striping and marking is then completed. This planned periodic program is an innovative way to save time and money while conserving environmental resources, ant it is easily replicable. The cost of an overlay in San Joaquin County averages about $300,000 per mile, while the cost of a chip seal averages $22,000 per mile, including crack sealing and other prep work. SJCPW’s cost-effective Program of periodic chip sealing reduces the frequency of overlays, which results in significant savings over time while reducing the amount of pothole patching required and providing a smoother ride and renewing the road surface every 7 years. This Program supports maximum efficiency of funding, staffing, and administrative oversight.