Saugerties Town Highway Superintendent Ray Mayone is asking residents to try to minimize their travel on roads that were recently treated with oil and chips. The most recently treated roads are VanVlierden, Hommel Road and Kelly Road, he said.
Why oil and chips, rather than asphalt? “Right now, to asphalt a road costs $25 per foot. It is going to cost an extreme amount to do two or three roads. By using oil and chips we are able to give attention to multiple roads,” he said. “There are many roads in the town that are in desperate need of maintenance. Oil and chipping is in process and I ask our residents to be patient. There is a three-to four-week waiting period after the chips are down. Then we will remove excess chips or loose gravel and put in oil on top of the road and it will look like blacktop, Mayone said. The cost is roughly $10 per foot, “depending on how much it costs to get the road back to its natural shape. It is much easier for me to place two inches of blacktop and be done with the roads.” Instead, Mayone is using oil and chips to save taxpayers money and getting more roads done.
The down side of oil and chipping roads is that there is a period of three to four weeks after the work is done when there is loose gravel around the road. After that period, the road will be just like blacktop, he said.
Mayone asked that any residents who have questions about oil and chipping to call his office. “I will personally return the phone call,” he said.
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