Tribune staff reports

Indiana Department of Transportation maintenance personnel from the Brownstown Unit have been scheduled to chip seal the six-mile section of State Road 135 from U.S. 50 to just north of Freetown — weather permitting — Monday.

Operations should proceed north from the intersection of U.S. 50 and State Road 135 on Monday morning. In the afternoon, the southbound State Road 135 lane will be chip sealed, beginning two-tenths of a mile north of Freetown.

Chip seal involves the laying of one or more layers of liquid asphalt with one or more layers of crushed rock, according to INDOT.

Flaggers will be on site to direct motorists around moving work sites, according to a news release from spokesman Harry Maginity.

State officials advise motorists to drive “very slowly and with extreme caution” on highways that have been freshly chip sealed to avoid vehicular damage from asphalt spray or loose aggregate. Motorcyclists should consider delaying or rerouting leisure rides on State Road 135 in Jackson County early next week.

Once the chip seal has cured, INDOT crews will return to State Road 135 to apply a fog seal.

These chip seals are extremely cost-effective. Experience shows that every $1 spent on this kind of surface treatment today saves $6 to $14 in highway expenditures later.

Small chips of limestone are used to cover the asphalt, choking it from spraying vehicles or sticking to tires. The aggregate chips also restore surface friction for improved skid resistance and driver safety.

Fog seals are fine coatings of liquid asphalt sprayed over the chip-sealed surface. The fog seal dampens dust from limestone fines, assists in aggregate retention and adds another waterproof layer of asphalt sealer to further protect the highway.

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For area highway information, monitor social media sites at facebook.com/INDOTSoutheast and Twitter @INDOTSoutheast. Verify travel plans at TrafficWise, trafficwise.in.gov.

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