The Seattle Department of Transportation will be resealing about 36 lane miles of residential streets this summer in the Crown Hill area of Ballard and in Greenwood, starting today. The process is called “chip sealing,” and crews will be working on selected streets south of NW 11oth St, north of NW 85th St., east of 15th Ave NW and west of Greenwood Ave N. through August 30. Crews need hot, dry weather for the process, which is why they’re working throughout the month.
SDOT says “renewing the chip-seal surface preserves the condition of the streets, creating a highly skid-resistant surface that prevents water from penetrating the roadway subsurface, thereby limiting damage such as potholes.” Crews can work quickly on the sealing, resurfacing several miles of roadway each day. The process has been ongoing since 1967, in which SDOT converts dirt and gravel non-arterial streets to chip seal to cut down on dust and other pollution, adding to improved air quality. SDOT says they chip-seal about every 10 years, and that the last time this area was sealed was 1996.
From SDOT:
Notices of upcoming work in the form of door hangers have been distributed to area residents and businesses. “No Parking” signs will be placed on streets in advance. Residents should park out of the area to be resurfaced to prevent the chance of any chip-seal residue getting on their vehicles, and to help SDOT do the work as quickly as possible. Because the chip-seal process involves the application of a fast-drying emulsion into which chipped rocks are compacted, the new surface can be driven on almost immediately. Motorists are asked to limit their speed to ten miles per hour for the first few days following the resurfacing to allow for the rocks to set. Mechanical street sweepers will remove the loose rock within several days following the chip-seal operation. (Sweeping might be postponed during extremely hot weather.)
They’ll be working 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Keep updated on the process here, or contact Susan Almachar from SDOT at 206-396-3556 for questions about the resealing.
