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Taking a Look at the Arbor Heights Microsurfacing Project

This year SDOT extended the life of many streets in Arbor Heights through a preventive maintenance program called microsurfacing.

Microsurfacing is a thin layer of emulsion applied to the surface of the road to seal minor cracks and keep out water.

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A layer of seal coat minutes after it was applied.

This “seal coat” protects pavement that is in good condition, similar to the way paint protects wood siding on a house from the weather. As we all know, it’s cheaper to preserve what you have today than having to rebuild it later.

SDOT conducted a microsurfacing trial program in 2013 on about 12 lane miles of residential streets in Wedgwood.   Based on those results, 27 lane miles of residential streets in Arbor Heights were microsurfaced over seven days this August.

As these photos from Arbor Heights show, microsurfacing also renews the surface of the streets and improves their appearance.

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Pavement before microsurfacing

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Renewed pavement surface

Now that folks in Arbor Heights have experienced the renewed roads for a couple of months, SDOT would like your feedback on the finished product, project execution and our outreach.

If you experienced this project, please take a few minutes to fill out our online survey.  Thanks!

For more info on the Arbor Heights project, see this SDOT blog article or SDOT’s microsurfacing page.