HUMBOLDT — Ninth Street in Humboldt looks smoother these days after crews resurfaced the street.
Fifth to Seventh Avenue was resurfaced on Sept. 3 and 4 and introduced a new product to Humboldt streets, a type three Can Seal micro-surfacing. This was a trial run for other possible resurfacing projects across the city.
Peter Bergquist, the city’s public works director, said the new product is more durable, takes only a couple of hours to cure, and can add about seven to 10 years to the life of Humboldt streets.
Ninth Street did need to be refinished, but Bergquist said they wanted the road to last a little longer. Water main replacements on Ninth Street are not in the ten year infrastructure plan, so this is extending the life of Ninth.
“We put it on there because [Ninth] has some structure capabilities and the road actually has structure. That’s an important factor in consideration.”
The emulsion is quick setting and is about a centimetre in thickness, creating a wear surface on top of the asphalt or well structured gravel.
“There was some surface failures already starting to occur, [so] they were able to put skin patches over some of the rough areas and then put this over top of everything to create a newer wear surface.”
Surfaces have to be structurally sound in order to be applied since it layers on top of the asphalt, Bergquist said, so that will be a deciding factor on where else the product is used on city streets.
Saskatoon has made extensive use of the Can Seal microsurface as well as other cities, Bergquist said, and has had some successful results.
It is more expensive than a traditional slurry seal, but will have a longer lasting result, and is cheaper than a complete mill and pave of the street.
Bergquist said anyone can call his office if they have any questions regarding the resurfacing of Ninth Street.
