The City of Yakima Streets Division will begin its annual chip sealing program on the morning of Tuesday, June 23rd.
The project area covers City of Yakima roadways from 16th Avenue to 40th Avenue and Lincoln Avenue to Fruitvale Boulevard. The project work hours will be 6:00 am to 4:00 pm, Monday through Thursday.
The City will have flaggers on site to help drivers access their homes and businesses and also assist emergency vehicles through the work areas as needed. There will be intermittent road closures and detours during the project. The chip seal program in this area is expected to last three to four weeks.
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. 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. 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.
Contact Streets & Traffic Manager Joe Rosenlund at 575-6005 for more about the City of Yakima’s chip sealing program.