MARSHFIELD, WI (OnFocus) – When driving around Marshfield, you may have noticed signs saying “wet oil” or “sand ahead”. We talked to superintendent of the Marshfield Street Division, Kris Hawley about what is going on with these roads.
Hawley said the measures are a combination called Reclamite and it is used to help rejuvenate asphalt.
“What this [Reclamite] does is keeps the road in a new state, flexible and minimizes cracking throughout its lifetime,” Hawley said. “It’s a preventative maintenance that will prevent the need for more costly and disruptive methods of street repair.”
The department puts Reclamite down on one-year-old pavement (this year, they will be catching up on some five-year-old pavement Reclamite projects) and that layer is set to last five to seven years when they will go over it with another coating.
The sand that is placed over top of the Reclamite is to keep the agent from being tracked all over town by tires of vehicles driving over top of it. The sand will be swept up the next day after the Reclamite has had ample time to soak into the road.
The coating is said to take a couple of hours to dry. Hawley assured that the coating along with the sand that is laid on top of the road is vehicle and environment safe.
In the past, the street department would put a chip seal over the asphalt every five to seven years to act as a hardening agent. Hawley said the cost is about 1/3 of what it would cost to use a chip seal making it more cost effective for the city.
Over the course of the summer, the street division will be applying Reclamite to 45 stretches of road totaling 169,030 square feet.
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