BATTLE CREEK, Mich. – City contractor crews will begin work on the 2025 Local Capital Preventative Maintenance project, including both chip seal and fog seal application, along several roadways starting tomorrow, Wednesday, July 9.
What is chip seal?
Chip seal is a preventive maintenance treatment in which the pavement is sprayed with asphalt emulsion, then immediately covered with aggregate and rolled (rotated) to its flattest side. Rollers, street sweeping, and traffic flow after a chip seal assists in compacting the aggregate. The construction materials utilized in chip seal operations are the same materials used to construct hot mix asphalt (HMA) pavement. Chip seal is used to seal the surface of an HMA pavement. A chip seal treatment preserves a pavement surface for up to a 10-year period as it prevents oxidization of the pavement surface and moisture infiltration, which reduces cracking and potholes.
What is fog seal?
Fog seal is a treatment also applied with chip seal projects to assist in reducing loose stone and dust associated with a new chip seal treatment. A fog seal treatment is a light application of asphalt emulsion, diluted with water, and applied to the surface of a bituminous pavement or recent chip seal. The fog seal treatment will create a black surface that appears to resemble new HMA. The black surface of a fog seal treatment also assists with pavement marking contrast and has value to winter maintenance operations, as the black surface helps to absorb heat and assists with the melting of snow and ice.
The following list of roadways are scheduled to undergo chip seal and fog seal work, as part of this project:
- Meadow Drive, from Capital Avenue SW to Riverside Drive
- Eastfield Drive, from North Ridgeway Drive to Riverside Drive
- Westfield Drive, from Northfield Drive to Southfield Drive
- Northfield Drive, from Westfield Drive to Lincoln Boulevard
- Southfield Drive, from Westfield Drive to Lincoln Boulevard
- Clover Lane, from Eastfield Drive to Country Club Boulevard
- North Ridgeway Drive, from Eastfield Drive to Country Club Boulevard
- Lincoln Boulevard, from Northfield Drive to Country Club Boulevard
- Bittersweet Lane, from Eastfield Drive to Country Club Boulevard
- Briarwood Lane, from Northfield Drive to Southfield Drive
- North Moorland Drive, from Eastfield Drive to Country Club Boulevard
- Howland Street, from Parkway Drive to West Roosevelt Avenue
- Vineyard Avenue, from Kendall Street North to North Washington Avenue
- Helen M. Montgomery Avenue, from Hubbard Street to North Wood Street
- Helen M. Montgomery Avenue, from North Wood Street to Kendall Street North
- Beglin Court, from West Goodale Avenue to Vineyard Avenue
- Blenken Court, from Parkway Drive to Howland Street
- Wahwahtaysee Way, from Capital Avenue SW to Riverside Drive
While there are no expected complete road closures during this project, local traffic should follow all construction signage and flaggers during both phases of the project to keep everyone safe and to get the work done in a timely manner.
Neighbors will always have access in and out of their driveways during the project. If you live on any of the above roadways and receive a door hanger, please do not park along the roadway until after the treatments are applied and contractors have vacuumed up excess stone. Contractors will be placing door hangers at all homes, on roadways that will receive the treatments, 24 hours prior to work starting.
Battle Creek Transit expects for most routes to remain unimpacted by this project; however, neighbors are encouraged to sign up for Transit text/email alerts on the city website in the Alert Center category. You can also follow the BCT Facebook page. Neighbors who need help planning their trip can call BCT at, 269-966-3474, and our Mobility Manager or dispatch team will be happy to help, as well.
Crews will begin this project Wednesday, July 9, and expect to be completed by Sept. 15. Work hours will generally be from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. The roadways have to be completely dry for the treatments to be applied, so all work is weather dependent.
Chip seal is just one treatment the City of Battle Creek uses as part of a total asset management approach of applying the right treatment on the right roadway at the right time. Using the right “mix of fixes” to maintain a roadway lengthens the effective life of that roadway and reduces the total cost of the pavement over its useful life. Chip-seal-treated roads are safe to drive on and are environmentally friendly. A chip seal treatment upon application may appear to be a nuisance for those traveling, but over time the treated surface improves. There is no reason to avoid them. The temperature of asphalt emulsion used for chip seal can exceed 165 degrees. Do not walk barefoot or allow pets on freshly treated chip-sealed roads.
We appreciate our neighbors’ understanding and patience during all work to improve infrastructure across the City of Battle Creek.
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