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01/23/2007: "Rough Road Ahead"

(New road surfacing showing delamination and uneven surfaces)

Why are the new road surfaces so rough? Not just a little rough, but a whole lot rough. If you have lived here for only a few years, you may have come to expect it, but those with long memories recall that it was the resurfacing of a portion of Roche Harbor Road some years ago, back when Darcy Nielsen was a County Commissioner, that the problem of new road surfacing seemed to have. "surfaced". Commissioner Nielsen both noted it, and repeatedly questioned why the roads were worse after they were "improved". She cited rough surfaces and uneven spots that, while new, seemed to be in greater need of repair then they did prior to the resurfacing.

The problem has continued, and for many drivers the problem seems to have become worse than before (See Letter To The Editor). County Administrator Pete Rose will give a "County Chip Seal Update" today (Jan 23), and Public Works Director Jon Shannon will present a PowerPoint explanation to the County Council that, according to Mr. Shannon will explain the reasons for the perceived problem.



Last week when Shannon gave a PowerPoint presentation on What Public Works Does, he told the Council that "next week I will tell you more than you want to know about chip seal… and explain that the rocks are not too ‘big'; as some have said".

Two Public Works employees The Island Guarding talked to about why the roads are so rough, and why the rocks (the "chips") are not staying in place in the "seal", said that they believed the rocks are too large. When asked why, they said that while they did not know, but if in fact the rocks are the problem, then the only explanation is that the specifications for the rocks was for large rocks, or the rocks barged in were not to specifications, and no one noticed, or checked; or if they did know, decided it was too late to do anything about it. Not much help there.

In response to an inquiry on roads we sent to Jon Shannon, Shannon wrote back that they receive rocks from "a different vendor every year", and he added that "The rock specification is tight, but there are small variations". In response to the question of the road surface, Shannon said "The rough road surfaces are due to several parameters of the process, not just the rock size. We are working on a new design for 2007".