On State Road 38 in Wayne & Henry Counties, State Road 44 in Fayette County.
Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) maintenance crews plan to chip seal sections of State Road 38 in Wayne and Henry counties and State Road 44 in Fayette County starting on or after Tuesday, Aug. 22.
During the chip seal operations, through state highway traffic will be directed around road work via signed detours. Access will be maintained for local traffic only. Motorists are advised to seek alternate routes to avoid the road work and potential delays.
Project schedules are subject to change. Weather permitting, each chip seal operation is expected to take up to two weeks to complete. Click the images to the left to see a map of the closure locations, detour routes, and for updates on these closures as the project schedules evolve.
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State Road 38 is scheduled to close between Hagerstown and New Castle starting on or after Tuesday, Aug. 22 to apply a chip seal to more than nine miles of roadway between State Road 3 and State Road 1. |
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State Road 44 is scheduled to close between Connersville and Glenwood starting on or after Tuesday, Aug. 22 to apply a chip seal on about seven miles of roadway between State Road 1 and the Rush County line. |
What to expect
Chip seals consist of a layer of crushed stone placed on top of a layer of liquid asphalt to seal cracks in pavement and prevent future deterioration. Loose stone will be on the highway temporarily during the initial cure of the asphalt.
Motorists are urged to take extra caution, drive slowly, and allow additional space between vehicles to prevent stone chips from damaging windshields or paint.
After the chip seal has cured, crews will sweep the highway to clear away loose stone, apply a fog-seal application of dark liquid asphalt to lock in remaining stone and minimize dust, and paint new pavement markings on the roadway.
About chip seal
After years of heavy traffic and winter freeze-thaw cycles, small cracks develop in our highways. If left untreated, moisture seeps into these cracks and form potholes when the water freezes and expands. As the name implies, a chip-seal treatment seals off the cracks. The stone chips provide improved traction for stopping, especially during winter.
During 2016, INDOT employees used more than 103,000 tons of crushed stone and 21,000 tons of liquid asphalt to apply the seal-coat to more than 1,460 lane miles of state roads. National research has shown that every $1 used to preserve our pavements saves $6 to $14 in future, more disruptive repairs.