Chip seals are used extensively in the US for preventive maintenance. However, damage due to snow plows, wet and cold weather and extensive solar radiation contribute to poorer performance than at lower elevations. Therefore, an experimental program was begun to evaluate these and other factors affecting long term performance of chip seals. Fog seals are often placed on chip seals in the US immediately after chip sealing, but the benefits have not been well documented. Also, chip seals often do not adhere to reflective paint marking after sealing. This paper describes an experimental pavement constructed to evaluate the performance of a chip seal placed at the top of Poncha Pass (elevation 9012 ft/2745 m) and also at the bottom of the pass (elevation 6825 ft/2081 m) to evaluate the benefits of fog sealing and removal of reflective paint markings prior to sealing. Twenty test sections were constructed in all to evaluate the performance of the seals with and without fog sealing, with and without paint removal, with controls. Results indicate that fog sealing may be effective when placed after chip sealing and that reflective paint removal is the only effective method to assure against chip loss due to reflective paint. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E127100.
Abstract