Politics & Government

Better Watch Out For Those Smooth Borough Roads

The borough DPW has begun preparing for the microsurfacing of nine streets.

If you see a big, orange sign proclaiming "Road Work Ahead" in the coming days and weeks on your street, it isn't because borough Department of Public Works employees want to get in your way. They're just preparing roads for a resurfacing project that will take place during the summer.

The process, called microsurfacing, is known as a cost-effective way to pave roads that ensures the longevity of the pavement. Right now, the DPW is preparing the sides of the roads—which are most cracked, since water runs down the sides—for the process by working to smooth them out.

That process prepares the roads for the eventual microsurfacing. They will once again be smooth once that process is complete.

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"We start at one end and work our way down," said Mike Kliesch, a DPW member who was working on Walnut Street on Tuesday between Washington Avenue and Lincoln Avenue. He wielded a wheelbarrow full of asphalt. Each wheelbarrow can hold 300 to 400 pounds of the material.

Workers estimated they work on about 200 feet of road per day.

Find out what's happening in Chathamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

This year, in addition to Walnut Street, the DPW will resurface Clark Street, Carmine Street, Martin Place, Rowan Road, Elm Place, North Summit Avenue, North Hillside Avenue and Orchard Road. All in all, the repairs will cover 25,631 square yards of road, according to Supervisor Tom Paris, who was also working at Walnut Street on Tuesday.

"We do other road repairs, too," said Paris. The DPW, he said, responds to resident issues throughout the year. The workers said they were happy, however, that the winter season was over, although they said it can get mighty hot when they're working in 80 or 90 degree heat throughout the summer.

See the borough or township DPW working around town? Send in a photo and we'll publish it right here.


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