Chip sealing under way on for U.S. 231, SR 67, SR 39 in Owen and Morgan counties

Indiana Department of Transportation maintenance personnel are scheduled to chip seal three state highways in Owen and Morgan counties over the next several weeks.

Flaggers will be present to direct traffic around moving worksites on U.S. 231, State Road 67 and State Road 39.

Motorists are advised to drive slowly and with caution where chip seal is being applied.

INDOT Bloomington Subdistrict crews began at Tuesday on U.S. 231 at Freedom in Owen County. They will chip seal to SR 67 north of Spencer.

At that point, pavement preservation operations turn eastward on SR 67 to SR 39 at Martinsville. Then, a section of SR 39 south of the White River bridge will be chip sealed. Placing the chip seal surface treatment on these three routes is expected to take eight working days.

Once chip seal has been applied, INDOT will overspray the three highways will a fog seal. That work should take five working days. Daily operations can be pushed back by inclement weather.

In all, INDOT crews will chip and fog seal 28 lane miles on U.S. 231, 32.2 lane miles on SR 67 and 4.1 lane miles on SR 39.

Chip sealing requires liquid asphalt to be sprayed on the roadway -- to be topped with small chips of limestone aggregate. Sealing the pavement against moisture and ultraviolet rays is expected to extend the service life of U.S. 231, SR 67 and SR 39. Safety for the motoring public is improved through restoration of surface friction, which improves skid resistance.

The fog seal further seals the pavement while dampening dust from the aggregate fines.

Chip seals are extremely cost-effective, INDOT believes. Studies show that every $1 spent returns approximately $10 in savings to the state and taxpayers in reduced maintenance cost and increased service life.