There have been two projects in my area where it is taking a long time for the final course of asphalt to go down. One is an Interstate widening (I-270 South Outerbelt between I-71 and US 23) while the other is a state route realignment and grade separation (OH-762 between US 23 and Ashville Pike). They were both finished otherwise last fall and have seen lots of traffic already. Why is the wait this long?
I put this in the wrong section AGAIN.
sorry
Also a portion of I-71 in Morrow County.
I think trying to get the paving done in the fall, while possible in theory, might have been thought "too ambitious". I think the bureaucrats would prefer a conservative schedule rather than allocate 2014 money to a task that might be delayed to 2015 due to weather. You can't pave in the winter, except cold mix asphalt, and that's not a proper way to finish a new road.
I don't know when asphalt plants open in Ohio, but down here, they typically open in April. It's very common for a road to be open to traffic on the base coat over the winter and then have the final coat of blacktop be put down once winter's over.
Can it affect the long-term durability of the surface? On OH-762 a medium-sized pothole opened up shortly after the asphalt went down.