The dusty gravel roads of … Minneapolis
Posted on July 29th, 2009 – 10:30 AMBy Roadguy
The sealcoating crews have been out in force in south Minneapolis, and yesterday, it was Hennepin Avenue’s turn to get a layer of black goo topped with gravel. As if that particular road weren’t already exciting enough, it now has clouds of dust, no lane markers, and flying pebbles. Avoidance may be the best strategy, and if I were on a bike (or living in a nearby apartment), I’d be wearing one of those masks more commonly seen on scooter-riders in Taipei. If your day does necessitate some gravel travel, you might as well hold off on the car wash until afterward.
(Photos taken today @ 9:30 a.m.)
21 Responses to "The dusty gravel roads of … Minneapolis"
As a biker, I hate it when they do that.
I understand the necessity of paving blah blah blah…but couldn’t the construction company run a streetsweeper behind the gravel truck and recycle all the rocks that don’t adhere to the new tar? Seems like a good way to save money to me, while clearing those piles of gravel off the road at the same time!
What stretch of Hennepin is this? Is this downtown? Is this at all related to the two-way-reconstruction of downtown Hennepin Ave?
Tyler: the sealcoating process relies on traffic to mash the extra rocks into the tar.
Tyler - A chip seal doesn’t work that way. They have to leave the chips in place until the asphalt emulsion cures before they can sweep them. If they swept them up right away, none would be imbedded in the asphalt layer.
When they sweep them, they do all get recycled and used on another road.
This is nothing. Come visit where Marquette Avenue use to be. You’ll know it when you are standing in a 6-month old large dusty gravel pit at the intersection of two of downtown’s busiest streets that a 4 block line of cars and buses are trying to creep through.
Due to limited supplies, please bring your own hardhat and work boots.
The Marq2 project has been excellent for slowing down cars and reducing the number of cars on the downtown streets around it. I’ve never had more pleasant bike rides across downtown on 6th and 7th streets.
I’ve lived in several major norther metro areas - nobody else does seal coating. Seems like a dirty, unsafe procedure.
I don’t know how to feel about the fact that I find myself agreeing with DGB. After further rumination, I think it’s OK.
Few things get your attention on a bike like taking a corner at speed on a freshly sealcoated street. That is some nasty stuff to fall on - I have some wicked good scars from a childhood skate boarding bailout & slide down a driveway that was just sealed & chipped.
Matty - yes, it’s also been very good for delaying people getting in to work, making it difficult for clients/customers to come down for meetings, has discouraged people from visiting businesses along the project, and imposed other such costs on those around it.
I think the Marq2 project will be nice if it’s ever finished. Just make a point of getting it done rather than tearing up the city for 2 years.
DGB, I don’t know whcih cities you’re referring to. Sealcoating is done all across the US. The asphalt company I used to work for sold sealcoating emulsions in 48 states.
I asked someone about this once who has experience in road construction and he said seal coating is done to extend the life of asphalt pavement. Seal coating has a number of positive results. He said the main reason it is done, especially in northern climates, is to create a seal to prevent water from getting below the pavement when it starts cracking. When a freeze-thaw cycle comes about, this barrier that kept the most of the water out will lower the rate that potholes form. Therefore extending the life of the asphalt pavement. He also said it prevents water from from getting in, preventing the base below the roadway to compact forming bumps in the road. This is especially useful in urban areas where the base is dug up to replace utilities. I also once heard that it helps around storm sewers and manholes as it prevents water from getting into the cracks in the pavement, which washes out the sediment around them causing the pavement to fail around these common road top fixtures.
I think sealcoating is nothing but hype. I resent having to drive my car over a surface that can put stone chips / tar on my car / plus the dust pollution. I’d like someone to post a website with a nonbiased article on the advantages of seal coating. I don’t think there is one!
They did it on 26th as well. Everyones cars are full of dust in my alley. At least they have been watering on Hennepin, but they have ignored 26th. We need rain!
So, DGB says that it’s not done in northern cities. Two people respond relaying the experiences of actual people who say that it is done all of the time in northern cities and that it has several results. DGB then responds that he thinks sealcoating is hype, yet doesn’t give a single reason why.
And yet he wants everyone else to find him an article? Hey DGB - how about your support your own arguments?
Prof. - you bring up legitimate points. The Marq2 construction does make it more difficult to move around the area in a private motor vehicle. That fact needs to be weighed against the benefits realized by having fewer and slower moving motor vehicles in the area.
For example, while people are discouraged from driving motor vehicles to businesses in the area, it is much more pleasant to visit the area via walking, biking and transit due to the decrease in auto traffic. Along these lines, if we were to make a permanent disincentive to drive private vehicles into the heart of the central business district downtown we would see businesses thriving and travel time with the core significantly improved because there would be fewer tips in private motor vehicles, which is the most inefficient mode of transport for short trips within a dense central business district like downtown Minneapolis.
We’re better off all around with fewer cars plugging up our streets. Discouraging people from bringing their cars into downtown helps free up space for everyone and would be a positive tradeoff in my estimation.
JDS - You are correct. It also retards oxidative aging of the pavement and improves the skid resistance, especially when the pavement is wet.
DGB - Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2009 Paper #09-2104 “Evaluation of Seal Coat Performance by Using Macrotexture Measurements”
In that second photo, is that woman even heeding to that pickup truck she’s about to run into?
Matty, there are no advantages of having slower vehicles there. I’ve never heard of even a single person ever actually being hit around here. It’s not like this is some danger zone.
And it’s not more pleasant to visit the area via walking because half the sidewalks are closed, you are forced to walk through a lot of dusty, dirty roads, and car movements are less predictable.
If you talk to businesses, one of the big disincentives for people to come downtown is driving and parking. They drive out to the suburbs because they don’t think they can park downtown. If you want a thriving downtown, you need to encourage vehicle traffic. I’m not saying that it should only be cars - light rail, buses and bikes are good too.
But let’s be honest, if you’re a retailer, your key market is not people on public transit and bikes. It’s people in big cars. I’m willing to be $1,000 that nobody has ever bought an expensive designer dress from Saks or Neimen Marcus and brought it home on a bike or public transit. I mean, let’s be honest here.
You need to make it easy for people to get to the core. Sure, they should walk when they’re down there, but you need to get people there first. Until you make that easier, the downtown retail will continue to lose to the suburban malls.
Your argument is far more utopia than practical reality.
“stone chips / tar on my car wah wah wah…”
Cool to know that there is a good chance that while riding my bike on sealcoat, certain DBaGs won’t be out harrassing me.
