Street maintenance to start next week in Torrington

TORRINGTON – Motorists should keep an eye out for workers on some local thoroughfares next week as the city begins this year’s round of its annual street maintenance project.
Mark Weis, with the Torrington Engineering and Planning Department, said portions of six streets are in line for “chip-and-seal,” a mix of hot oil and small rock laid down to provide a better traveling surface for the road.
“It’s putting down a coat of hot oil and then putting down 3/8-inch chips,” Weis said. “It’s a micro-surfacing of the road to seal it up.”
On the calendar for this year’s project are:
• Vista Drive within the boundaries of Valley View Cemetery;
• East 30th Avenue between Main Street and East K Street;
• East 27th Avenue between East D Street and Ridge Road;

• East 23rd Avenue between Main Street and East B Street;
• East A Street between East 22nd Avenue and East 23rd Avenue, and;
• East B Street between U.S. Hwy. 26 and East 23rd Avenue.
Typically, crews will address one lane in a one- to two-block section of the road under repair at a time. The oil will be sprayed on the surface and the rock overlay will be poured. Then, crews will reverse direction, applying oil and stone to the opposite lane, before moving on to the next section of road, Weis said. There should be minimal impact on traffic flow as the project progresses, he said.
“With these lengths, on typical streets, should only take a few hours,” Weis said. “Just slow down a little bit. We ask residents not to park on those streets for the duration of the project.
“If you see black stuff on the ground, don’t drive through it,” he said. “It’s a simple as that.”
In total, more than 33,000 square yards of liquid asphalt and stone chips will be applied to city streets this year, Weis said. The project is expected to cost about $78,300, and will be paid for from the regular Street Department budget, he said.
A Yankton, S.D. – based company, Topkote, Inc., will be doing the actual work on the project.
The resurfacing project is actually the final step in what amounts to a two-year process, he said. Last year, surface cracks in the roads receiving the overlay now were filled, in preparation for the work this year.
Department administrators and currently studying street conditions, formulating a plan for next year’s project, Weis said. The process rotates around the community, with streets being repaired this way every seven to 10 years, roughly the life expectancy of the material being used.
Traffic flow can impact the life of the material, with busier streets effectively wearing out quicker than less-traveled roads. More frequently traveled roads require more maintenance and are included in the repair rotation more often.
The project is scheduled to begin late Tuesday or early Wednesday and should be completed, with the roads ready for normal use, by the end of the week, Weis said.