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City Hall
Seal Coats Roll Onto Forest Grove Streets
The City of Forest Grove Public Works Department which maintains City streets will begin sealing 39 City-owned streets over the next several weeks. The plan is to start Monday, July 25, but rain is in the forecast. The successful application of the Seal Coat requires warm, dry weather and in the event of rain or other inclement weather, the sealer cannot be applied on the scheduled date. If this happens, it will be rescheduled at a later date and citizens will be notified of the new date. City staff strives to give 48 hours advance notice. Please see attached map of the proposed streets marked in red that are intended to be sealed this year. Typically between 4 and 6 streets can be done per day.
If you live in an area marked in red, you will find a schedule on your door prior to the commencement of work. If you plan to use your vehicle, please park outside the project boundaries as indicated on the schedule. In neighborhoods where many of the streets are to be sealed, only a few streets will be done each day to allow reasonable access to the neighborhood. The sealer cures quickly, usually within several hours in direct sun, and traffic will be allowed back on the street on the same day.
Please remember that if you wish to use your car it will need to be moved to a location outside of the project limits prior to 7:00 a.m. on the scheduled date. Sealers do not clean up easily. It will stick to your shoes, clothes, car, carpet, etc., if walked or driven on. Vehicles parked on the project streets will be SUBJECT TO TOWING to areas outside of the project limits.
Questions? Please feel free to call us at (503) 992-3122. Thank you for your patience and cooperation. 2011 Seal Coat Map
About the Process…For residents unfamiliar with the process, asphalt sealers are an environmentally friendly mixture of asphalt emulsion, water and tire rubber additives. This “quick set, slow cure” process is a recipe for success, because it extends the life of roadways in an economical way that causes the least amount of inconvenience to homeowners and the traveling public while work is taking place.
Many neighborhood streets in the City have been treated with Slurry Seal applications. The Public Works Department has added a relatively new Asphalt Sealer (Rubber Modified Asphalt Emulsion) to its tool box of preventative maintenance techniques and will be applying it this summer. This product will not take the place of Slurry Seal, but is another tool that is better suited and cost effective on the streets scheduled to be sealed this summer.
Long Life Solutions…After nearly 10 years of experience with pavement resurfacing materials, the City Engineering and Maintenance Departments have found Seal Coats to be an effective long-term solution. Although the average life of a road is 18 years, it starts showing signs of distress and deterioration much earlier. After about ten years, potholes and unsightly marks start appearing. Add to that, the sun’s rays beating down on pavement during our hot summer months that bakes the road surface causing even more drying and cracking and the effects of our seasonal rains that can leak into the road base, causing premature road failures. When Seal Coats are properly applied and re-applied in approximately three- to seven-year cycles, the life of City streets can be extended greatly.
Economic Solution…Through the preventative maintenance program, taxpayer dollars are saved in both the short and the long term. And by giving renewed life to neighborhood streets with surface seal treatments, the costly expense of removing and replacing streets in disrepair is considerably reduced.
Hassle-Free Solutions…Seal Coats set quickly, causing only minimal inconvenience to neighborhood residents. Materials applied in the morning allow use of the road the same day.