MDOT starting $2.5M in work Tuesday

Nearly 20 miles of Michigan Department of Transportation roadways will be resurfaced in St. Joseph County starting Tuesday.

MDOT’s Nick Schirripa said the work centers on portions of three state-owned routes: U.S. 131, M-60 and M-86. The $2.5 million project will take place in Constantine, Lockport, Park, Mendon and Nottawa townships.

Schirripa said the projects will undergo a three-step process starting with chip-seal. It is followed up with a procedure called fog-seal and completed with micro-surfacing.

“They begin by sealing cracks with a tar-like substance, then they apply a chip seal layer, which is pea stone and tar,” he said. “Then, they’ll do what’s called a fog seal, which is sealing it all in with a thin layer of asphalt on top so instead of driving over loose stone, a fog seal will provide a smooth road surface.”

He said county road commissions tend to prefer leaving the tar-and-stone surface intact. Not doing a fog seal, he said, is a better option on low-traveled, low-speed roadways with gravel shoulders.

Micro-surfacing is the final application, as varnish protects a layer of wood, for example.

“The whole idea (of the three-step process) keeps roads in good shape and extend the life of the road,” Schirripa said. “It makes more sense instead of trying to do little things to fix the roads as problems pop up.”

Schirripa said work zones are on U.S. 131, from Dickinson Road to Garber Road in Constantine Township; M-60 from Hoffman Road in Three Rivers to Plainfield Drive in Mendon Township; and M-86 from South Main Street in Three Rivers to West Main Street in Centreville.

Though he was unable to confirm, Schirripa said he expects the work will be done one location at a time instead of all three simultaneously.

Single-lane closures will be monitored by a flagging operation.

The work, which is being done by Imlay City-based Pavement Maintenance Systems, is expected to be finished on or before Sept. 17.