Special to Iredell Free News

Keeping town-owned streets in good working order is a top priority for Mooresville staff and elected officials, but the increasing prices of asphalt pavement means that only milling and resurfacing old or damaged roads to repair them is no longer financially feasible or cost-effective.

In order to utilize taxpayer dollars wisely, the town is embracing new tools, along with its investment of $2 million in preservation efforts to continue to provide residents with the highest quality roads to drive on.

The first new tool is called microsurfacing. This method involves sealing existing cracks in the road and then applying a thin layer of microsurface, or a mix of emulsified asphalt, crushed aggregate, and a few other chemicals. Microsurfacing is also cost-effective from a durability standpoint, lasting seven years or more for a fraction of the cost of major road rehabilitation. It is the Town’s goal to apply approximately four miles of microsurfacing on local roads during fiscal year 2022-2023.

The second tool is the use of asphalt rejuvenator. Asphalt is composed of two main elements, an asphalt cement (AC) and a stone aggregate. Asphalt typically fails because the AC surface becomes brittle and starts to crack. When the rejuvenator is added, it softens the AC pavement surface and reduces the stress on the material. The rejuvenator will be applied while the roads are still in working order, as the goal is the preservation of existing roads. The Town aims to apply approximately 7.6 miles of rejuvenator on our local roads in its first year of use.

These new processes, in conjunction with milling and resurfacing, allows the Town to treat more than 20 miles of roads, versus an average of seven each year. 

During Monday’s town board meeting, commissioners awarded a $495,7333 construction contract to Slurry Pavers Inc. for the new maintenance program.