Resurface Project Underway on County Roads

BY MELANIE BUCK –

Polk County Judge Brandon Ellison has released a tentative schedule on the 2015 Spring Surface and Re-Surface projects that are currently being worked on. Last Thursday road crews worked on Polk Roads 652 and 54 and Ellison said that the set up for primer is complete and primer is applied on both of those roads. Also, the set up on Polk 41 North is in progress.

On Friday the set up continued on Polk 41 North and crews completed that portion of the project by noon and then applied the primer in the afternoon.

On Monday, they will lay the first layer of asphalt emulsion and aggregate on Polk 652 and Polk 54. On Tuesday, they will lay the first layer of asphalt emulsion and aggregate on Polk 41 North.

Ellison said that the asphalt level is already complete and single layer of asphalt emulsion and aggregate have been applied on Polk 88 and Polk 680.

On Wednesday, the asphalt leveling should already be complete with a single layer of asphalt and aggregate applied to Polk 89, 644, and 649. The second and final layer of asphalt emulsion and aggregate will be applied on Polk 652.

On Thursday, the second and final layer of asphalt emulsion and aggregate will be applied to Polk 54 and 41 North.

Polk Road 689 was also a part of this project and is complete. A two-inch asphalt overlay was applied and compacted on this short,1400 foot long road.

Ellison also said that the resurfacing portion of this project takes the least amount of time however, the preparation for the final surfacing is very labor intensive.

Judge Ellison said, “Polk 54 is definitely the showcase road when you consider the before and after. It was very narrow and in disrepair. There was not a fix without going to extraordinary measures to turn this route into a satisfactory road. We had to widen and elevate the entire length as well as install all new drainage.”

He pointed out that almost every road on this project has received some new drainage work.

Weather has been an issue on the timeliness of the work, “The project began back in the winter and the frequent rain has hampered the crew the whole way. The timing has been terrible with the flood damage and final surfacing coming at the same time,” Ellison said.

Ellison was able to obtain a commitment from the U.S. Forestry Service to help pay for the improvements on 41 North.

The Judge asked citizens to please avoid these roads if possible. Primer is a very messy oily substance that will cling to your vehicle and dry. It is removable with WD-40 but is unpleasant to deal with. Primer is necessary for a quality hard surfacing project. If you must travel these roads before the primer cures, please drive 5 MPH or less to avoid flinging the oil on your vehicle and degrading the project. Primer generally requires I day to cure.

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