The city of Santa Maria’s annual street maintenance chip seal program will begin next week and will last four weeks.
About 100 street segments throughout the city will receive treatment during the $800,000 project.
Some of the busier streets to receive treatment include North College Drive from East Alvin to East Donovan; East McCoy Lane from South Broadway to South Miller Street; and North Railroad from West Donovan to West Alvin.
Construction will move quickly from street to street. In order to construct the project, parking will not be allowed on the streets in active construction areas. The contractor will provide notice and post those streets with the dates and times when parking will be prohibited.
Chip seal applications present the possibility of damages to vehicles traveling through the work areas. Try to avoid these areas during the road work, and within several hours after the application.
Chip sealing is a thin layer of road resurfacing that protects and extends pavement life. First the road surface is prepared by patching or crack filling and surface cleaning, then a spray binder is applied, a thin layer of gravel chips is placed, followed by several passes with a roller and the sweeping of excess chips. Finally, within three days of the chip application a sprayed-on coat of fog seal is applied. The road is opened to traffic after chip spreading and is only closed again during fog seal application and a short curing period.
The work will involve the removal of existing traffic striping, the placement of a chip seal with fog seal, and the reestablishment of traffic striping. The city has contracted with Graham Contractors to perform the work. More than 413,000 square yards of chip seal will be applied — enough to surface 59 lane miles of roadways.
Questions may be directed to the Public Works Office/Engineering Division at 805.925.0951, ext. 225.
Mark van de Kamp is a management analyst in the Santa Maria city manager’s office.