Latest News• Add My News • Search Old News Gippsland › Latest news › Latrobe Local NewsRoad reseals are saving significant repair costsResealing the municipality's roads is saving millions of dollars of ratepayer's money through preventative road maintenance Resealing the municipality's roads is saving millions of dollars of ratepayer's money through preventative road maintenance Latrobe City has claimed, as its $1.74 million road reseal program for 2000-2001 came to a close.Latrobe City Mayor, Councillor Brendan Jenkins, said it was common for citizens to ask why their road was being resealed when there were no potholes, but the cost of not doing the maintenance would minimally be four or five times what Council expended annually in their road budget. "Reseals are a preventative maintenance treatment, such as painting the exterior walls of a house. Responsible home owners would not wait for the paint to peel and the weatherboards to rot before they repaint the house. Similarly, Latrobe City should not wait until the road becomes potholed and cracked before resealing or resurfacing the road, or waiting for faults to develop. The cost of fixing roads once faults develop is extensive," Cr Jenkins said. Group Manager Engineering Services, Larry Naismith, explained that it was necessary to reseal at an average frequency of ten years as the bituminous wearing surface became porous, brittle, and sometimes slippery if preventative maintenance wasn't done. "The seal forms a waterproof barrier which prevents the gravel and subgrade underneath from becoming wet. Due to Ultra Violet radiation the bitumen in the seal over a period of time becomes brittle and cracks. Minute cracks then allow water to seep through the road pavement, into the subsurface, and then potholes and soft spots form in the road. Experience has shown that once the road pavement becomes saturated, heavy vehicles can cause considerable damage to a road pavement in a very short period of time," Mr Naismith said. "Road pavements that have been allowed to deteriorate do not provide a smooth ride like a well-maintained road surface. The seal also provides a skid resistant surface for vehicles to travel on. Road surfaces become polished and slippery over a period of time, particularly in wet weather, due to the continuous action of vehicle tyres on the aggregate, so there is a significant contribution made towards road safety from road reseal programs," Mr Naismith said. "This year Latrobe City resealed 575,000 square metres through its contractor Quality Roads. Our aim is obviously to keep the road surface in tip-top condition on an ongoing basis, thus avoiding having to do costly repairs. "The cost to reconstruct the road pavement or carry out patching is considerably greater than the cost to reseal or resurface the road pavement. Essentially at the moment it costs Council $2.15 m2 to reseal compared with $45 m2 for asphalt patching, so it's simple to see the financial incentive and cost savings to citizens in providing good preventative maintenance on our local roads, Mr Naismith added. Source: www.gippsland.com Published by: latrobecity@gippslander.com
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