Chip Sealing Project to Impact Traffic

The City of Yakima Streets Division will begin a chip sealing project on the morning of Monday, July 16th.  This year, the initial work area will be in the vicinity of 88th Avenue, Kail Drive, Hawthorn Drive, Poplar View Way, and North Scenic Drive.

Crews will chip seal from around 6:30 am to about 3:30 pm Monday through Thursday and expect to take about two weeks to complete their work.  Drivers are encouraged to avoid work zones if possible.  In order to reduce dust and to keep work crews safe, 20-mile-per-hour speed limits will be strictly enforced on the streets where chip sealing is underway.  No roads will be blocked during the project.  Construction signs and flaggers will direct traffic around the work areas.  Access to homes and businesses on the roads to be chip sealed may be restricted for short durations while the work is being done.

Asphalt roads deteriorate over time due to traffic and exposure to sun and wet weather.  As a part of the City’s ongoing street maintenance program, chip sealing is done on a periodic basis in order to protect road surfaces from water and weather damage and to keep them in good condition.

Chip sealing helps maintain existing pavement in its present condition by delaying further aging due to water and sun, enhances the texture of a road surface and improves skid resistance, and corrects existing pavement problems by sealing cracks.

The best aspect of chip sealing is simple economics.

Currently, the cost of an asphalt overlay (new blacktop) is about $90,000 per mile.  By comparison, the cost for chip sealing is $16,000 a mile. Chip sealing saves taxpayer dollars because it protects the road from deterioration and greatly delays the need for a new asphalt overlay to repair a deteriorated road.

Chip Sealing Project – News Release