Avalon roadwork should be done at the end of the week, according to City Manager Steve Hoefs.
The city’s repaving project took longer than expected in large part because some roads had to be repaved a second time.
This was because some individuals drove over blocked off roads before the slurry seal was dry and spread the slurry over other streets. Weather also played a role in delaying the project. Due to rain, all repairs were to be stopped on Thursday, Nov. 8, and resumed Tuesday, Nov. 13.
Avalon roadwork should be done at the end of the week, according to City Manager Steve Hoefs.
The city’s repaving project took longer than expected in large part because some roads had to be repaved a second time.
This was because some individuals drove over blocked off roads before the slurry seal was dry and spread the slurry over other streets. Weather also played a role in delaying the project. Due to rain, all repairs were to be stopped on Thursday, Nov. 8, and resumed Tuesday, Nov. 13.
As previously reported, vehicles and pedestrians have tracked the slurry throughout the town’s streets, sidewalks, and pedestrian walkways.
“We are aware of the inconvenience that it has brought to private citizens and business owners,” said a prepared Avalon Public Works Department statement that was issued last week. “Unfortunately, there have been a few streets that have been slurry sealed and barricaded to dry and then driven and/or walked through causing severe damage.”
The re-repaving has cost Avalon more money than expected, though how much more is not yet known.
“It hopefully shouldn’t be too much,” said Hoefs.
He did not have an exact figure at this time.
He said most people in town were appreciative of city staff’s efforts.
As for the pedestrians and motorists who circumvented barricades to drive over the sealed roads—there isn’t much Avalon officials can do about them.
Hoefs said the city actually knows the identity of one individual who did a lot of damage to the roads.
But he said there was not a lot Avalon could do to make them accountable. Some people, unfortunately, are impatient.
Hoefs said he has contacted the Avalon Station of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.
Hoefs said there is no specific law that addresses the issue.
Hoefs apparently didn’t believe trespassing laws would apply since the streets in question were public streets, although they were barricaded.
He said a civil lawsuit was an option.
However, he has not given up on using the Sheriff’s Department to deal with the problem.
Slurry seal
“Slurry seal is a cold-mix paving system that can remedy a broad range of problems on streets, airfields, parking lots and driveways,” according to the California Pavement Maintenance Co., which worked on the Airport in the Sky in the late 1990s. “Think of Slurry as an Industrial Grade Asphalt Surfacing. The principal materials used to create slurry seal are aggregate, asphalt emulsion and fillers, which are mixed together according to a laboratory’s design mix formula. Water is also added for workability.”
“Easy, swift application of a new overlay makes slurry especially attractive for rehabilitating busy thoroughfares, parking lots and airport runways,” said the CPM website. “The new surface is ready to use in just hours after application.”
Even so, cities discourage residents from using recently repaved roads right away.
According to the city of Irvine, slurry seal takes 24 to 48 hours to “cure.”
According to California Pavement Maintenance Co., slurry seal was first used in Germany in the 1930s.
“But it was not until the 1960s, with the introduction of improved emulsifiers and continuous flow machines, that real interest was shown in the usage of slurry seal for a wide variety of applications,” the website said.
“As a treatment for everything from residential driveways to public roads, highways, airport runways, parking lots and a multitude of other paved surfaces, slurry seal is now used extensively throughout the world. Local, state and federal agencies—including the military—have a growing and ongoing commitment to the use of slurry seal in their maintenance programs, attesting to its effectiveness and economy.”
