Chip & Seal Roads
On a road like we have at WCR, it's called a "Chip & Seal" road. It's typical of most states for use on rural roads, costs much less than standard highway asphalt or concrete roads and last longer without annual repairs.
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The process is simple: Brush debris off of old road surface, lay down a hot tar-like sealer followed quickly by the the chip (crushed stones), roll to embed the stones in the hot sealer. For heavily traveled roads with normal and high speed limits the roads are also swept clear of any un-embeded chip. However our roads at WCR aren't high traffic and aren't high speeds (for most people, ha!).
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The obvious downside is the amount of excess chip. It can create traction issues, reduces tire life and is somewhat generally annoying to those that drive on it.
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The last section of road done in 2016 (White Bluff Trail to the Middle gate) still had a fair amount of excess chip after a few months. So, the "road-resurface committee" had the excess chip swept off to the side of the road on October 28th by the paving company. We will most likely do this as a matter of course whenever a section of road is resurfaced in the future. The cost increase to the overall cost of the road resurfacing will be about 4% more, but this will only be done every 7-8 years. By removing the excess chip, it can also extend the length of time before a resurface is required, further reducing the cost to WCR owners.
