Road maintenance work throughout Webster Groves begins next week as the Public Works department begins the chip seal program on residential streets. Chip sealing is a method of road maintenance that protects the pavement from the effects of sun and water, increases skid resistance, fills small cracks and other surface defects.
The “chip seal” procedure begins by spraying a layer of liquid asphalt on the existing asphalt pavement. This is followed by immediately placing a layer of rock no larger than 3/8" in diameter over the top of this liquid asphalt. The rock layer is then rolled into the liquid asphalt. Over the next several days, the liquid asphalt solidifies or "cures" resulting in an impervious surface with embedded rock. After the curing period, loose rock that has not been embedded into the new surface will be swept up and removed from the site. The sweeping will be performed about five days after the street is sealed and again about two weeks later.
This sealing process will extend the pavement life and help to reduce the need for and costs of future repairs. This maintenance process is routinely utilized in our neighboring communities including Kirkwood, Clayton and Glendale.
This year's maintenance program is scheduled to begin the third week of September and take approximately three weeks to complete. “No Parking” signs will be posted the day prior to the work being done on each street.
There will be some inconvenience associated with this procedure. The day prior to the actual placement of the "chip seal" treatment, "No Parking" signs will be posted on both sides of the street, extending the entire length of the segment to be treated. The chip seal process will be completed during the day indicated on the No Parking signs. For the day of chip sealing, you are requested to park off of the street or on an adjacent street. Access to your street and driveways will only be restricted for about a fifteen-minute period during which the liquid asphalt and rock are being physically applied. The street will be able to be driven and parked on immediately following the placement of the chip seal treatment. It should be noted that the day posted may be changed due to weather conditions beyond our control. In that case, the chip sealing will generally be performed the next working day.
We request that the use of sprinkler systems or other activities which could introduce water or debris such as grass clippings into the street area be restricted the evening before and the day of the scheduled chip seal placement. After placement of the chip seal layer, we also request that vehicular traffic obey the slow speed limit signs posted since loose rock will remain until the scheduled sweeping occurs.