Every year, the Ruapehu District Council carries out a resealing programme over summer as part of a planned road pavement preventative maintenance programme. People who don't understand the process often question why this is necessary.
The seal on a road is like paint on your house - it keeps water out of the structure underneath. Like paint, the seal breaks down over time and starts to let water in. When the surface of a road starts to break down it is time to reseal the road which makes the surface waterproof and reduces the rate of further deterioration. The newly sealed surface can be expected to last about 14 years before requiring a further reseal.
The ideal time to reseal is just before any damage occurs, so your road may still look to be in good condition before the reseal is undertaken. Council reseals up to 30 kilometres road each year at a cost of $1.45M.
Ruapehu roads are generally resealed with a stone chip seal. The process begins with minor repairs being carried out a couple of months prior to resealing. Stone chips are stockpiled, traffic control is established, hot bitumen is sprayed and stone sealing chips are spread and rolled in. Traffic is then allowed on the road to bed the new seal. Finally, excess sealing chips are swept away within a week or so, road marking is reinstated soon after and temporary traffic management removed.
If you want to find out more about this year's reseal programme please contact the Land Transport Team at Ruapehu District Council on 07 895 8188 or email us.
