Highway Resurfacing Projects Ongoing

Repaving of the 22-mile stretch of Highway 66 from near Newnata to Leslie was completed this summer, and two other sections of Stone County highway are undergoing different types of resurfacing projects by the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT).

Two sections of Highway 5 – from Allison north to near Livingston Creek, and from the Highway 14 East intersection south to Little Raccoon Creek – are affected.

A section north of Allison has been overlayed with a chip seal covering, which is designed to protect existing pavement and extend the time before repaving is needed. According to an ARDOT fact sheet, chip and seal costs 85 percent less than asphalt and can extend the life of a roadway up to seven years.

The fact sheet explains that for a chip seal application, a thin layer of liquid asphalt is sprayed on the road, then covered with small aggregate called chips. The chips are compacted for maximum adherence to the asphalt and excess chips are swept away.

Local residents have complained that excess chips have been an issue. ARDOT District 5 Maintenance Engineer Brandon Love said loose gravel warning signs and speed advisory signs were posted along the 13-mile stretch between Livingston Creek and the White River Bridge at Calico Rock, but ARDOT cannot force drivers to reduce speed.

In recent years, ARDOT has begun applying a final coat of liquid asphalt over the chips to help hold them in place. That process should be complete after this week, he said, and the project will lack only striping.

The chip seal project falls under the maintenance division, while asphalt overlay is under the construction division headed by Construction Engineer Dustin Treadway. One section involves about three miles north of Allison, and the second is about eight miles south to Little Raccoon Creek.

Treadway explained that the agency inspects all highways each year with an automatic road analyzer to monitor rutting and deterioration. That data is then used to prioritize projects and determine funding needs and availability.

“It’s a big, involved process with a lot of input from every angle,” Treadway said.

The Highway 5 South section is slated for asphalt overlay, with milling of two inches of the curb-and-gutter section before two inches is reapplied. The remainder will have an asphalt overlay applied over the existing pavement, he said.

The webpage ardot.gov/project-dashboard shows pending, active and completed construction projects across the state. It does not reflect maintenance projects such as the chip seal overlay.