Pavement Preservation Treatments aren’t just a one-time fix. They involve careful surface preparation, including patching and crack sealing, before application. Once applied, they need time to properly set, dry, and cure to establish their final surface profile. Given this, it’s crucial to pay special attention to ensure top-notch results for our new road surfaces. Explore below to understand how these projects are carried out and what you can anticipate throughout the process. Additionally, discover valuable advice on driving, parking, and navigating around during installation, along with ways you can assist us in ensuring a safe and prosperous project.

Prior to the start of the project, City crews work in the impacted areas to replace significant portions of deterioration in the roadway.

When the project begins, contracted crews prepare the area by removing weeds, trimming trees that may impact equipment, and sealing cracks in the asphalt. Crack sealing is an inexpensive method to prevent moisture from seeping into small cracks common in aging pavement.

How long does it take?

A few days, depending on weather and the size of the neighborhood. 

What’s entailed?

Crack Sealing

– Quick-moving operation

– On-street parking affected

– Work zone protected by appropriate traffic control

Patching

– Localized failures fixed with asphalt

– Includes potholes, utility cuts, wide cracks, “alligator” cracking

If the roadway is deteriorated enough, it will receive a treatment called a chip seal. This involves applying a tar-like substance on the existing roadway, followed by the placement of rock on the tar base. Lastly, we apply a fine rock and oil mixture called “slurry” over the entire road. This is applied either over the newly placed chip seal or the existing asphalt.

Notification

Notices will be distributed with dates and instructions.

Generally, No Parking signs will be posted in advance to help residents plan ahead.

TIPS: You will not be able to get out of your drive for a good portion of the day after a slurry surface is applied, so park your vehicle within walking distance if you need to leave after the start time.

If you need special arrangements, you can call your local crew supervisor whose number will be on your notice.

Day of Installation

Road Prep

– Cones are set out in preparation of the application truck coming through

– Manhole and utility covers are protected

TIP: This is a good indication that we’ll be applying the slurry seal shortly and there may be wet slurry in front of your driveway.

Sweep

– The road is swept to ensure a good bond

– Fairly fast-moving so it causes very little disruption to traffic or routine

TIP: Sweeping signifies that the slurry seal application is imminent and residents should exit their driveways now so as not to get blocked in by a lane of wet slurry.

The treatment needs adequate time to dry. During this time, you can anticipate that your street will be closed for approximately 8-10 hours. That means no driving, cycling, or walking on the road. Driving on the road can leave your car a bit of a mess and leave tire tracks in the fresh oil, so please avoid doing so. 

Once the street reopens, please use caution when driving on the newly treated surface, as hard braking or stationary turning of the wheel can cause scarring.

24-48 Hours After Application

Protecting Your Street’s New Surface

– Wet and freshly dried treatments are vulnerable to damage from vehicles

– High temperatures will soften any type of asphalt material

– Marks will appear from hard stationary turning and are unavoidable. 

– Most of this type of marring will blend in over time 

– This wear-in also applies to the initial surface texture 

TIPS:

Avoid sitting still and turning your wheels or cutting the steering wheel hard like when backing out of a driveway.

Instead, back out and begin moving forward before turning your wheels.

Keep speeds low to moderate for at least 24 hours and a few days if it’s really hot outside.

2-3 Weeks After Application

There Will Be Loose Aggregate

For the first couple of weeks after the install, it’s natural for some of the fine surface gravel to wear out of the slurry matrix as the surface wears in and smooths out.

The loose gravel is almost always no larger than 1/4 of an inch in diameter by design.

There will be places along the curb where loose aggregate can accumulate.

Feel free to sweep or blow any loose rock back into the roadway. Street sweepers will likely grab it the next time they make their way by.

1-3 Weeks After Application

Once the slurry seal has had sufficient time to cure and our installation punch-list has been finalized, we conduct a thorough quality control inspection. Please note that the timeframe for this varies depending on prevailing weather and traffic conditions. Our aim during this inspection is to ensure adherence to standards and confirm the seal’s effectiveness. Should there be an excess of loose material on the road surface, we will initiate a sweeping process to remove it.

2 Weeks to Several Months After

The surface may initially show surface variations.

For the first couple of weeks to couple of months after the install, it’s also natural for the new surface to have some irregularities. These may include slight ridges, drag marks and/or color variations.  In almost all cases, this is not bad work, but the nature of the treatment material and the best practices for installing it quickly and economically. City of Clovis staff will continuously monitor the progress of the project. If there are any abnormalities detected, they are put on a punch list to be corrected.

Scuffing

One aspect of pavement preservation with Slurry and Chip seal is their tendency to mar and scuff, especially when new in hot weather. Again, this is indicative of ALL asphalt products and is normal. Almost all scuffs fade given time.