Rough Ride Temporary on Some Repaved JCC Secondary Roads

By Desiree Parker Friday, October 14, 2011

One Supervisor and citizens in some James City County neighborhoods are upset by pavement treatments put down recently; transportation officials say this is a standard treatment and rough conditions will smooth out soon.

The initial roughness and change in the road surface has neighbors and Supervisor John McGlennon concerned.

At Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, McGlennon said these treated roads “are supposed to be improved, but are worse than when they began.” He said he had driven on some of the streets after residents had complained and he said “the results, I am afraid, are not very pleasant.” His concerns were not only for the new roughness but that the lines have not been repainted, that the gravel could damage windshields and that the roads won’t be ideal for cyclists due to residual stickiness and bumpiness. He also was concerned about the loose gravel shedding to the roadside.

WYDaily asked Rossi Carroll, the Williamsburg residency administrator with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), to respond to some of the concerns.

Carroll said that surface treatment is very common in Virginia and has been used for several years on secondary roads. It is a treatment intended for use on roads that have lower speed limits and less traffic.

Surface treatment was placed on some county roads recently that were about 15 years old and were showing signs of wear. The treatment extends the life of the road for another five to seven years, according to Carroll. It is not applied to roads that are seriously degraded.

“We try to pick pavements that aren’t yet deficient, and use [surface treatment] to keep them from failing,” he said. VDOT is trying to extend the life of roads before they fail and need to be completely repaved.

The rocks and bumpiness will go away once the excess material sheds off the roadway to the shoulder area, Carroll said. This should happen within seven to 14 days.

After this period, VDOT will return to restripe the area.

The road is safe for cyclists, according to Carroll. “The new surface provides better grip, but it is a little rougher.” Many secondary roads across the state have surface treatment and cyclists use them all the time, he noted.

Here is a brief explanation of the various types of road treatments from the paving company Templeton Paving.