Highway maintenance ensures that the 326
lane miles of town roads are kept in safe working order through three different
levels of service: routine maintenance, preventative maintenance, and
capital improvements. The time frame and the level of maintenance of a road are
determined through a rating process utilizing a system provided by the Cornell
Local Roads Program.
Routine maintenance is defined as the everyday upkeep of the town roads and Rights
of Way. This includes:
Street sweeping
Tree trimming on town land and Right of Ways
Roadside pickup of litter
Dead animal pickup
Right of way mowing
Road striping
Roadside ditching
Pothole patching
Sign maintenance
Drainage inlet repair
Preventative maintenance is defined as the process of treating the
road surface to protect the road from oxidation and water infiltration which
will lead to degradation. Preventative maintenance includes:
Crack Filling
· Crack filling involves applying hot liquid
asphalt to the cracks in the road to help prevent water from seeping
into the road.
Surface Treatments
· These treatments are applied when a road is typically
7 to 10 years old. Surface treating seals the road surface from water
seeping into the road, adds traction, and a new wear surface.
· Slurry Seal is a treatment that is used to seal the
road surface. This process, which is compared to an industrial driveway
sealer, applies latex asphalt and small stones to the road surface.
Slurry Seal is used primarily on residential roads.
· Chip
Seal is a treatment that also seals the road surface. This process
applies hot liquid asphalt to the road surface and then a layer of small stones
which sticks to the hot liquid asphalt. This process is used primarily on
rural roads and collector roads.
Capital improvements are defined as the
rehabilitation of an entire road structure and appurtenances. This
includes:
Concrete gutter replacement
Catch basin and storm pipe replacement
Milling of asphalt surface
Asphalt recycling
Asphalt placement
Roads that are scheduled for capital
improvements are typically 20 or more years old and have had numerous surface
treatments applied to them. The rehabilitation process includes repair or
replacement of most of the roadway infrastructure to bring the road back to
near new standards. Infrastructure repairs begin with sewer pipe
inspections using remote television cameras to inspect the sanitary and storm
sewers. Repairs to these systems usually start the year before the actual
road work begins. Catch basins and connecting pipes are also replaced at
this time.
When the road work begins, some, or all of
the concrete gutters are replaced. This process can take up to 5 weeks
depending on the amount of gutters that are replaced. The next step is to
remove, or mill, the surface of the road making room for the new asphalt
layer. This process takes place very quickly, usually a day or two.
Once the milling is complete, any subsurface base repairs are made and the
milled surface is prepared for the new asphalt.
The final step is to replace the asphalt
that was removed during the milling phase. This paving phase will either
be a one or two step process if the original layers of asphalt are in good
condition, the top layer of asphalt is placed and the work is complete.
If the original layers of asphalt have deteriorated beyond repair, a recycled
layer of asphalt will be placed using the old asphalt mixed with new stone and
liquid asphalt. This layer is allowed to cure for about two weeks.
The top asphalt layer is the final course used in either paving phase.