Tour de Chip Seal. Tour de Chip Seal Follow- up Report and Conclusions May 16, 2013

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1 Tour de Chip Seal Follow- up Report and Conclusions May 16, 2013 Old Jackson Highway, Victor Idaho Tour de Chip Seal Teton County Idaho and Teton County Wyoming May 16, Old Jackson Highway, North Section ¼ with GSB- 88 fog seal Old Jackson Highway, South Section ¼ no fog seal 2. Fish Creek Road, Wilson 3/8 with CSS- 1H South, east of Highway GSB- 88, no chips 4. Otta Seal treatment on S4500W (Cedron Loop). BST (bituminous surface treatment)

2 Attended: Jay Mazalewski, Dave Gustafson, Brian Schilling, Rob Heuseveldt, Bill Knight, Rick LaBelle, Dan Powers, Chi Melville, Tim Adams, Mike Welch, Tim Young The group met at the City of Victor office and visited three roads and four test treatments that were applied last summer on Teton Valley Idaho roads. First Stop 2000 South Road History/Condition This is an older paved road, which is still in relatively good shape so the county applied a GSB- 88 top coat only as a rejuvenator to help extend its life. The wear surface is in good shape so chip seal was not called for. The road has typical expansion/compression cracks, which were repaired before the GSB- 88 application. The GSB- 88 has the ability to penetrate the asphalt and rebind the aggregate thus extending its life. Observations The road surface is holding up well to moderate mixed use car, agricultural and dump trucks. The surface is smooth and good for cycling. Second Stop South 4500 West (Cedron Loop) This 1- mile road section was rebuilt over the past several years as there was never a good road base and the asphalt surface was falling apart. Over several years, the county first built up the road base and then added a crushed gravel top layer. They then applied their Otta Seal treatment over the past two years. This is a BST (bituminous surface treatment) that they use on roads that need more than a standard chip seal or use as an asphalt substitute. Observations The road surface is holding up well to moderate mixed use car, agricultural and dump trucks. The Otta Seal treatment is rough for cycling during the first several months after application so it has a season long impact on cycling, but the resulting surface in the travel lanes is smooth and good for cycling after a summer and winter of use. Third Stop Old Jackson Highway Mountainside Village Road History/Condition The Old Jackson Highway was originally built as a state highway for traffic over Teton Pass. A new highway was built on a different alignment over 50 years ago and the Old Jackson Highway (OJH) has been used as a local feeder route since. In 2002, Federal Land Highways money as part of the Teton Pass Trail project (no local match) was used to reconstruct a new asphalt road surface, repairing road base sections in the process. The road has had no surface treatment until the summer of 2012 when it was chip sealed with 1/4" chips. This section also had GSB- 88 applied as a fog coat after the chip seal. Chip Seal Report Page 2 of 10

3 Observations The fog coat did a good job of retaining the chips as there is almost no chip migration to the road edges. There was some surface wear noticeable from snow plows over that past winter but they didn t impact the bonding/chip retention ability of the GSB- 88. Cyclists report that while not as smooth as asphalt, it s one of the better chip seals to ride on. It was good to ride almost immediately after the chip seal was applied. Fourth Stop Old Jackson Highway Moose Creek Road History/Condition This section has the same history as above except it didn t receive any sort of fog coat after the chips were applied. Observations There was some chip migration to the road edges and small chips and sand still on the road surface. Cyclists report that it s still a reasonable chip seal alternative but does not ride quite a smoothly as the section which had the GSB- 88 fog seal. It was also not very rideable for some time after the chip seal was first applied and loose chips were present. Conclusions The bicycling community in both counties applauds the county engineers and road departments for their efforts to find a good balance between maintaining county roads for longevity and at the same time not negatively impacting alternative transportation modes such as cycling, roller blading, roller skiing, chariots and baby strollers. Recognizing that historical chip seal methods have not met those goals, its great to see a willingness to test different surface treatments and use them when road conditions, traffic volumes and type of use warrant. We recommend that when possible, a fog seal such as GSB- 88 be used more frequently to retain the aggregate and wear surface by reintroducing binders to the asphalt, thus extending time before a new wear surface such as a slurry seal, micro seal or chip seal is needed. When the wear surface is such that it needs to be resurfaced, use of as smooth a treatment as possible should be used. Slurry seal and micro seal are good choices if funding allows. Recognizing that the least costly solution up front is not always the least costly when amortized over many years, we encourage the road departments to factor the costs over 10 & 15 year periods. When chip seal is determined to be the best option, we encourage the use of smaller chips ¼ size on roads where bicycle use can be expected. We also recommend assessing the type of use present (or desired) on different roads, and surface treatments selected to best meet the needs. Roads with significant non- motorized use like cycling are good candidates for spending a little more for a smoother surface treatment, like micro or slurry seals, which will encourage those types of active transportation and help meet community comprehensive plan and transportation planning goals. Chip Seal Report Page 3 of 10

4 Test Section #1 - - Old Jackson Highway, Teton County and Victor Idaho, 2012 The Old Jackson Highway was chip sealed in 2012 with two test sections The northern section has ¼ chips, with a top fog seal using GSB- 88 Oil. The southern section also used ¼ chips, but without any fog seal over the chips. Chip Seal Report Page 4 of 10

5 Test Section #1 north - - Old Jackson Highway, Teton County and Victor Idaho, 2013 Old Jackson Highway northern section, spring 2013 after winter season. Chip seal remains quite secure, and surface GSB- 88 fog seal is clearly visible, section along Mountainside Village. This style rides best for bicycle riders of all the chip seal methods tested. Chip Seal Report Page 5 of 10

6 Test Section #1 north - - Old Jackson Highway, Teton County and Victor Idaho, 2013 Close view of the north section, shoulder shows limited loose gravel was generated, and the ¼ chips still fully coated in oil. The top has been scraped by plows, but good coverage remains. Chip Seal Report Page 6 of 10

7 Test Section #1 South - - Old Jackson Highway, Teton County and Victor Idaho Close view of the south section, no fog seal. Top photo, 2012 after chip seal with substantial loose chips, which are not good for cycling. Bottom photo, 2013 close up view, shoulder shows additional loose gravel was generated, and noticeable loose fine sand between the chips. Chip Seal Report Page 7 of 10

8 Test Section #2 Fish Creek Road, Teton County Wyoming, 2012 Fish Creek Road test was a 3/8 Chip Seal with CSS- 1H top fog seal; this is a slightly larger chip, and a different type of fog seal from Idaho Test. Note visible larger chip in lower photo. Test section rides better than without top seal, but not as smooth as ¼ chip tests. Chip Seal Report Page 8 of 10

9 Test Section #2 Fish Creek Road, Teton County Wyoming, 2013 Close view of the Fish Creek after winter season shows 3/8 chips still secured, but significantly less CSS- 1H fog seal remains visible on the surface, compared to the GSB- 88 oil on Old Jackson Highway test section. The GSB- 88 is somewhat more expensive, but appears to wear better. Chip Seal Report Page 9 of 10

10 Test #3 Seal Coat only, two different types of seal coat [Note: above photo is from Arbon Valley, ID] The top portion of road received CSS- 1 treatment; the bottom received GSB- 88; application rates were the same. The difference in performance after a period of time is significant. The GSB- 88 oil seal was used on 2000 South, east of highway, with surface coat and no chips, just top oil seal. Traditional ½ Chip Seal on Fish Creek Road in very unpopular with bicycle riders as well as motorists concerned with broken windshields, higher road noise, and reduced gas mileage. This style of chip seal rides the worst off all tested sections for all wheeled nonmotorized users. Chip Seal Report Page 10 of 10