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The metered distribution of rock is then pushed into the hot liquid with rubber tire rollers . The result is a clean aggregate surface with a moisture barrier to help keep water out of the road base while providing a durable wear course . A sweeping process occurs after the bitumen has cured ; this removes the excess rocks that did not imbed into the glue . This alone is a very good treatment with an average life of five to seven years . However , as shown at the bottom of
The speed of this process and the durability of the treatment makes this an attractive solution in the ongoing battle of preserving our roads .
Residents are minimally affected by the required work and gain new roads in the process . Traffic can be returned to the chip seal surface almost immediately after the chip has been placed . When microsurfacing is applied , there is typically a onehour delay before traffic is released ; however , due to its catalytic nature , this can be shortened to as little as five minutes with straight run traffic . In the photo above , we can see the chip seal process where the hot bitumen ( liquid asphalt ) is sprayed with precise rates on the existing surface . This process places the “ glue ” that will hold the rock ( chips ) in place . The distributor truck applies the heated bitumen just prior to the application of chip using BearCat ’ s rate control system . This delivers the best adhesion of the chips to the road surface . Quickly after the hot bitumen is applied , a machine called a chip spreader drops a controlled volume of rock on the bitumen . The chipper is a self-propelled machine that is fed by a dump bed or live bottom truck . As one load is emptied another quickly takes its place to feed the chipper and keep the process flowing . the page , APS applies a Cape Seal of microsurfacing . This process is catalytic in nature with aggregates consisting of a variety of smaller particles . These are then blended with a specific asphalt emulsion and other ingredients in precise proportions . The mixture is extruded from the rear of Etnyre ’ s RoadSaver into an auger box that spreads the material on the surface while metering the application to a desired thickness . The speed of this pro-
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