The City of Hillsdale gave Marion Street a double chip seal and fog coat in August.
Courtesy | City of Hillsdale

The city finished maintenance on parts of Marion Street and LoPresto Avenue earlier this month. 

“It’s embarrassing to have roads in the city in the condition Marion and LoPresto are in,” Mayor Adam Stockford told The Collegian. “Anything we can do to improve them is a win for the city.” 

According to the City of Hillsdale’s Facebook page, the city contracted Pavement Solutions, Inc. to install a double chip seal with a fog coat Aug. 14 and 15. The repairs took place on Marion Street bordering Kekoose Park to the north, and Lopresto Avenue bordering Mill Pond to the east. 

The new pavement will help protect the road from the stress of cold winter and hot summer temperatures. Extreme high and low temperatures impact the longevity of asphalt roads, and, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, can cause asphalt roads to become brittle and buckle as years go by. 

According to the Washtenaw County Road Commission, chip sealing involves first spraying a thin layer of hot asphalt onto the road, then immediately pressing a layer of crushed gravel into the fresh asphalt. The gravel is compacted into the asphalt, and the excess is brushed away. Once hardened, the road is smoother and more skid-resistant, anti-glare, and water-resistant. 

Chip sealing typically costs between a fourth and a fifth of a full pavement overlay but provides similar results, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation. An asphalt overlay, which adds an entire layer of asphalt to the road rather than a thin coating, is more time intensive than a chip seal. 

“It’s a short duration fix, but it does keep,” Hillsdale City Engineer Kristin Bauer said. 

Bauer said the chip seal saves the city money that would otherwise be spent on dust-limiting measures and grading the road. 

The city fog-coated the streets after sealing them. 

Bauer described the project’s temporary road closures as being low impact on local residents. 

“The project serves a purpose for what we’re trying to do, but it’s not like building a whole road,” Bauer said.

Jordan Wales, associate professor of theology and Hillsdale resident, was hopeful about the project results.  

“I’m willing to tolerate the inconvenience,” he said. “The GPS used to direct me down Marion Street when I first arrived in town but I learned to avoid it even before I learned my way around. I imagine those who live there will enjoy the changes, as well as the long-ignored GPSes of the world.”