Somerset County Increases Use of Budget Saving, Road Extending Process by 30% in Third Year

Slurry Seal Process Successfully Extends the Useful Life of Roads, Reduces Paving Costs and Timeframes for County Drivers and Taxpayers Since 2020

SOMERVILLE – In a continued effort to provide safe travel for residents and visitors at a reasonable cost, the Somerset County Commissioners on Tuesday awarded a $1.5 million contract to expand the use of the “slurry seal” process on County roadways by thirty percent.

“The slurry seal process is a significant improvement over milling and paving alone, reducing the cost of creating and maintaining safe roads for our taxpayers,” said Deputy Director Melonie Marano, liaison to the Public Works Department. “After two years of using this process very successfully, in 2022 we are expanding the program to include thirteen miles of roadway in eight Somerset County municipalities.”

The slurry seal coating is roughly the height of a quarter on its side, but extends the usable life of a roadway by as much as five years at significantly lower cost than milling and paving.

Slurry seal is used on roads that need maintenance but do not yet require full replacement and can extend the life of roadways by five years or more. Eventually all roads require milling and paving, but the use of slurry seal reduces long-term costs by extending the time between milling and paving projects while providing a new riding surface. As a result, the County decreases the overall cost of maintaining its 250 miles of roadway while keeping or improving roadway conditions.

Additionally, the slurry seal process takes significantly less time than milling and paving, reducing the impact on local motorists as they travel to shopping, work, and recreation. The process does require road closures, but such closures are done overnight to allow for reduced impact on commutes and daytime travel.

The dates for the work will be announced in the coming weeks, and all work in the contract will be completed in calendar year 2022. The specific roads included in the contract are:
CR525 Claremont Road in Bernardsville from Rt.202 to Mendham Rd
CR640 Lyons Road in Bernards from Quincy Road to Stonehouse Rd
CR613 Stonehouse Road in Bernards from South Finley/Lyons Rd to Valley Rd
CR647 Mendham Rd in Peapack Gladstone from County Line to CR512 Main Street
CR512 Pottersville Rd/Main St in Peapack Gladstone from Route 206 to 1,000' south of Ramapo Way
CR671 Old Chester Road in Peapack Gladstone from Brookside Drive to Dewey Ave
CR527 Mountain Blvd in Watchung from Brookdale Rd to Watchung Circle
CR653 Stirling Road in Watchung from Verona Pl. to Watchung Circle
CR653 Stirling Road in Warren from County Line Bridge to Rt. 78 Bridge
CR601 Belle Mead Blawenburg Road in Montgomery from Grandview Road to CR518
CR533 Millstone River Rd/Main Street in Hillsborough/Millstone from Somerset Courthouse Road/Main Street to Blackwells Mills Road


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