Rocks replace waves but not without peril
Staff writer
Waves began being swapped for rocks last week on Remington Rd. between US-56 and 290th Rd. as Marion County road and bridge began chip-sealing the nine-mile stretch.
But the process introduced a challenge to drivers. Until the “chips” are compacted into oil and excess rocks are removed as part of the normal chip-seal process, travel at 55 mph can be hazardous.
Experts advise drivers to limit their speed to 20 to 35 mph until the process is complete.
Road and bridge employees already have dealt with people faster than 35 mph.
On one of the first days of the project, employee Jason Crevan said a lady “flew by” at 50 mph and blew out a tire.
“Poor old lady,” he said.
When other employees tried changing her tire, they discovered the lady’s spare wouldn’t fit and called for extra help to get the correct spare.
Since asphalt was installed more than a decade ago, heavy use has created a bumpy and uneven surface en route to Pilsen, making travel sometimes feels wobbly.
Chip-sealing fills those wobbles, giving the road a better gripping surface for tires, which “comes in handy in the winter,” Crevan said.
Estimates in 2025 put average cost per mile of chip-seal at $38,700, administrative coordinator Doug Kjellin said. At nine miles, that comes out to $348,300.
The county is using its own employees rather than an outside contractor because it “keeps cost down if they have enough people,” Crevan said.
The project is expected to be complete by next Wednesday, Kjellin said.
“We should be getting one to two miles [done] a day,” he said.
Chip sealing is linear. Oil is sprayed on asphalt, and aggregate is put down and compacted into the oil so the half-inch rocks can set properly.
About a day later, excess rocks are swept off by a street sweeper.
“It’s a quick process, unless something goes sideways,” Crevan said. “It’s quicker than blade patching because you have to wait for blade patch oil to dry. … Something like this isn’t really time sensitive.”
Road and bridge in August requested $4.2 million for an entire rebuild a separate road — a six-mile stretch of 330th Rd.
If approved, the project would be paid for from the county's capital improvements fund.
As of July 31, the county's capital improvements fund was just over $4 million.
Previous versions reported that a large road and bridge project request totaling $4.2 million would be paid for by road and bridge's general budget, when it actually would be paid for from the county's capital improvements fund.