City Hall uses chip seal to try to fool the suckers

"Chip seal is the frozen burrito of road construction: cheap, fast and easy. But it doesn't feel good and is probably gonna cause some damage." – Travis H Facebook comment 

BY RICHARD JOHNSON

A quick Google search says, Chipseal (also chip seal) is a pavement surface treatment that combines one or more layer(s) of asphalt with one or more layer(s) of fine aggregate. In the United States, chipseals are typically used on rural roads carrying lower traffic volumes, and the process is often referred to as “asphaltic surface treatment.”

Wait, what did that just say? Low traffic volumes? 

Let's take a sec to think about traffic volume. According to the Bureau of

Transportation statistics, Americans take 1.1 billion trips a day — four for every person in the U.S. If you add up everyone in your subdivision, you can see the toll on the road just from use.

Let's also take a nice long look at Mother Nature. Even with low volume, extreme heat, cold and moisture beat up the road like it stole something. Fighting the weather is about as productive as kicking rocks.  

I'd bet my "MADE IN TAIWAN" flip flops that most of the chip seal applied to streets in Cheyenne won't even survive to see this year's Christmas Parade. I'm so confident, I feel like heading over to the nearest off-track betting location to keep my streak going. 

Wow, this article is separating like oil and asphalt in 95 degrees. Anyway ... 

In all honesty folks, chip seal works efficiently when it is done correctly. It provides pavement preservation. Of course, a lot of folks have a chip seal horror story that gets overlooked by the city's latest survey.

These tales from the Chip Seal Crypt Keeper usually go a little something like this:

-- There is a pothole on next street that wasn't filled before chip seal, so all it did was make it dark so you can’t see pothole.

-- There is chip seal stuck in the drainage system. Where they chip-sealed in front of our house, there is now standing water when it rains when there wasn't before.

-- After the chip seal, the roads are still uneven and there was a crack not filled down the street.

-- The contracted chip seal firm was so unorganized no one knew when they should or where they could park on other streets.

-- The chemicals in chip seal sent two of my dogs to the veterinarian. It irritated their paws to the point that the developed blisters.

-- Chip seal is a waste, just lots of money flying out the door. These concerns have been brought to the mayor's attention, but the mayor didn't respond.

Did I miss anything?

Face it, just like most individuals, the government is just like you; Broke but trying to look rich. You can only do so much with the resources at hand, right? Best to make those resources look as lux as possible. 

If there is one big pro to chip seal: It's a fantastic tool to show you that campaign promises are being met and that things are gonna be just fine. 

Even though the seal will only last through two election cycles, should only be completed on one road at a time and has absolutely no warranty, it's gonna be OK! This is progress! Just take these two aspirin. Remember, the road to community success is always under construction.

            Richard Johnson is a former City Council member from Ward 3 on Cheyenne’s east side.