Oil and gravel on state highways?

[cjk374]

The chip-seal nightmare also occurs in Louisiana.  They put it on low & mid-volume highways.  The "pea gravel" is not small here.  It's granite trucked in from Arkansas & can really chip windshields & eat tires.  It is exactly what Brian 556 says it is.  IMO, it turns these state & US roads into "over-glorified parish roads". 

A DOT employee told me it's supposed to keep water out of the dirt-base under the asphalt & keep it solid.  It sure doesn't fix anything on the surface. 

[sandiaman]

A very unusual combination  of road surfaces I was  on a few  years ago.  I have never seen this before ,paved highway for a half mile, gravel for half  mile, then  paved again and so forth.  This  was  on an unmarked, unsigned  road  off of Tribal Route 9  that  connected to US 550    just west  of Cuba, NM.  I guess it was meant to slow  down traffic  or discourage  use  of  the road by non-Indians.  In  that part  of  the country, road  signs seem to mysteriously  come  down.

[US 41]

A very unusual combination  of road surfaces I was  on a few  years ago.  I have never seen this before ,paved highway for a half mile, gravel for half  mile, then  paved again and so forth.  This  was  on an unmarked, unsigned  road  off of Tribal Route 9  that  connected to US 550    just west  of Cuba, NM.  I guess it was meant to slow  down traffic  or discourage  use  of  the road by non-Indians.  In  that part  of  the country, road  signs seem to mysteriously  come  down.

There were no signs on this old old old route of 66 at this particular intersection. No stop signs, no nothing. The road was 1 lane with gravel shoulders so the road could be 2 lane if another car was approaching.

Look for the intersection of S 540 Rd. and E 140 road south of Miami, OK. The only reason I knew Rte. 66 switched roads was because of the curve. There should be a green arrow pointing at the intersection.

https://www.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&authuser=0&q=36.815718,-94.909247&aq=&vps=1&sll=39.766555,-86.441277&sspn=3.816808,7.822266&vpsrc=3&t=h&ie=UTF8

[froggie]

A Mississippi DOT press release on state highways they're in the process of chip-sealing in central Mississippi, as well as mentioning some of the benefits of them, namely preventing water from seeping into the pavement...something that runs counter to what a few posters upthread claimed.

[Right on Red]

Last year they put oil & gravel on two fairly major local roads. They didn't survive our harsh Wisconsin winter too well (they look like they haven't been repaved in years, and most of the paint wore off). It's also huge nightmare to bike on.

[Arkansastravelguy]

I've seen one road chip sealed in Arkansas, AR 74


iPhone

[billtm]

I found a (hilarious?) video by INDOT on chip sealing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfwaAUpk6fo

[cl94]

NYSDOT Region 7 uses it on low-traffic state highways that, in some cases, have no business being a state highway. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I have not seen another region use it. Several counties and local municipalities do use it in the rest of the state.

[Road Hog]

TxDOT is a big user of chip-seal. They just did 16 miles of major state highway on my drive to and from work. In two years it'll be all worn down and the tar will be exposed in grooves, typically. And most FM roads are chip-seal coated.

At least they're doing a better job of late of placing the pea gravel so it doesn't sling up and crack windshields, unlike 20 years ago.

[silverback1065]

SR 48 in Jasonville or linton, IN (cant remember the specific city) has it as well you can see it on street view

[wxfree]

TxDOT has gone hog wild with chip seal projects, especially on FM roads, apparently using the cheapest possible material.  I've seen quite a few of them that within days (literally, within one week) showed visible wear.  One project, between Osceola and Itasca, is seriously worn and needs repaving before the original paving project is even finished.  Penny wise and pound foolish, I suppose.

[froggie]

On the flip side, there's a professor I know at WVU (Morgantown, WV) who says that WVDOH's *lack* of a chip seal program has contributed to significant deterioration and potholes on Morgantown-area roadways this spring.