New Equipment Helping Extend Road Life

crack sealingStephens County is using a new piece of equipment to help extend the life of its roadways where possible.

Last month, the county announced that it had received and started to use its new crack sealing machine.

Road Department crews started using the machine on Dick’s Hill Parkway first.

According to County Administrator Phyllis Ayers, the machine has worked very well so far.

Ayers said that the county is working to make the machine a part of the county’s normal road maintenance schedule.

“We are fortunate to have a worker that has been with DOT and has done a lot of crack sealing in the past and he is training about seven of our crew to make sure we carry this on in the future,” said Ayers. “As the years go on, the roads will go into different phases. Some of them that will be crack sealed this year, in two to three years, will be re-surfaced.”

Ayers said that crack sealing roads properly can extend the life of a roadway and potentially save money over time for Stephens County.

“Sealing these cracks will put off the beginning of potholes for a much longer time than what we have experienced in the county,” said Ayers. “The roads will not have to be re-surfaced as soon.”

Ayers went on to say that this is a road preservation technique that has worked well in many other counties.

She said Stephens County has not used it in the past, but is excited to start using it.

Stephens County used SPLOST dollars to purchase the crack sealing machine.