Seal coating project plans approved for select roads in Jasper County

Three seal coating projects — of which two are on major highways — had their final plans approved by the Jasper County Board of Supervisors last month.

County Engineer Michael Frietsch said the seal coatings will be applied to Highway S-74 from Newton city limits to North Street in Reasnor, Image Avenue from North 27th Avenue East south 0.7 miles to Kellogg city limits and Highway T-38 North from U.S. Highway 6 East to the the Marshall County Line.

“These would be similar in scope to what we’re doing on F-70 this year between Monroe and (Highway) S6G and what we’re doing up in Valeria there (F-34),” Frietsch said. “We’ve filled in the cracks already, and come middle of May they’re going to use slurry to level things out and improve drivability on the road.”

Lastly, the affected roads will be scrub sealed, sanded and re-striped. Frietsch said the county is going to get into a process of doing it about every seven years. Supervisor Brandon Talsma asked what the life expectancy is for a project like this. Frietsch said about five to 10 years. The county engineer said it’s not a fix.

Rather, it is a band-aid to get by. It buys time until the county can afford a better solution for these roads. Frietsch said a lot of counties are resorting to this type of treatment on a regular basis, and the main reason is because it is affordable; it’s either pay $75,000 a mile for a seal coat or an overlay for $750,000 per mile.

“We can’t afford the three quarters of $1 million option, so but that’s what we got here,” Frietsch said, noting the seal coating extends 7.6 miles on S-74, 0.7 miles on Image Avenue and 8.8 miles on T-38. “…All three of these use the farm-to-market moneys, and they’ll be let through the DOT in the July letting.”

Another road maintenance option the county is looking at in the future is a method used by a contractor in Chicago. Fritetsch said crews heat the surface, relay it and apply a thin layer of asphalt. He suggested the cost is low, and he stressed again that pricing is a big factor when deciding more effective solutions.

“We’re just trying to extend the life or at least try to buy us some time or whatever until maybe funding gets better in the future,” Frietsch said.