6/23/2011
Reed Hollinshead
ITD Communication
208-334-8881
reed.hollinshead@itd.idaho.gov
REMINDER: Seal coat on State Street (Idaho 44) from Glenwood Street west starts Monday
BOISE - A seal coat will be applied on State Street (Idaho 44) starting just after the morning commute on Monday (June 27). It is the first of several seal coats on roadway surfaces throughout the southwest Idaho region this summer.
The seal coat will extend the life of the roadway and provide greater traction for motorists.
The seal coat on State Street will begin just west of the Glenwood intersection and proceed west 2.3 miles to the junction with Idaho 55 where the road cuts off north toward McCall. Weather permitting, the work will only take about three or four days. The contractor will then move up Idaho 55 to the Shadow Valley Golf Course and work back south to the Idaho 44 junction. Weather permitting, this will take another four to five days. Work on Horseshoe Bend Hill will follow.
Speed limits will be reduced. Traffic will be controlled by lane closures, lane restrictions or pilot cars. Motorists can expect delays of up to 20 minutes.
A 14-mile seal coat is also planned on Idaho 55, between Zachary Road in McCall and Boulder Creek Bridge in Donnelly in mid-July. A 28-mile seal coat will follow on Idaho 71 from the Snake River Bridge at Brownlee Dam in Hell’s Canyon to the U.S. 95 junction in Cambridge later that month. The sequence of those two seal coats could be switched by the contractor, though.
Crews will work a 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekday schedule on these projects. Work is not anticipated on the weekends, but is not prohibited except near McCall. On Idaho 55, crews can only work Monday through Friday and have to be off the road by noon on Fridays. Crews can’t work on the weekends due to the heavy recreational and tourism interests in that area during the summer months.
Seal coating begins by applying a layer of asphalt, then a cover coat of gravel on the roadway surface. The highway is rolled and traffic allowed on to the roadway to help pack the surface before "brooming" or sweeping to remove excess gravel. All brooming will be done at night on all projects. Multiple broomings are performed on successive nights at each project site to remove excess loose rock chips from the driving surface.
A properly applied seal coat can add several years of service to a heavily traveled roadway by sealing the surface and adding roughness for winter traction.
The work is done during the day to allow the heat to help asphalt and rock bond more quickly to the roadway surface, providing a higher-quality finished product.
Snake River Construction, of Kimberly, Idaho, is the contractor on this $696,795 project.
In August, seal coats are also planned for the Notus, Parma, Murphy and Nampa areas under a separate contract.