MOUNT VERNON — After evaluating street conditions, the city has decided to chip-seal some streets rather than resurface them.
City Engineer Brian Ball said a chip seal with about one-half inch of mill-and-fill costs about $6,000 per mile less than traditional asphalt resurfacing. Traditional milling is 3 to 5 inches.
“We would really probably be saving a little bit more because we’re going to go to roads that are not completely failed. We’re going to apply this treatment and we’re going to extend that life probably seven to 10 years,” he told city council members on Tuesday.
Council members gave a second reading to legislation authorizing the city to bid and contract for the 2026 chip seal project.
Ball told the council there is no reason to suspend the three readings or include an emergency clause since the work will not start until spring.
South end
The neighborhood around Riley, Delano, and Parrott streets is one section slated for work.
“Most of the South End is going to be dug up, but if we wait until they’re done to resurface our roads, we are going to have extremely poor asphalt,” Ball said. “So we suggest the chip seal program.”
The city also plans to perform linear grading to help counteract low areas in the roads.
Ball said that over the years, grass builds up along the road. Crews will skim off the grass to allow water to drain from the roads.
“If we do the linear grading, we believe we can probably knock out 90% of the low areas,” he said.
“There will be some repairs that will have to be included where we do put down some asphalt to fill in some holes and some areas where we’re seeing failure.”
Ball said the city will notify property owners that it will be scraping their yards.
“We will also reapply seed so the area can regrow and re-green,” he said.
The engineer said city crews previously did the grading. However, he will include it when the city bids the chip seal project.
“That’s something that takes a big effort. It takes a lot of dump trucks,” he explained.
Additionally, it takes workers away from stormwater work. Ball said that, in the long run, the city would save more by having its crews perform stormwater work and contracting grading.
New Gambier Road
In the past 10 years, the city has paved and chip sealed portions of New Gambier Road.
The city budgeted $260,000 to improve the road, which Ball said has two problems: drainage and a beautiful canopy of trees.
Additionally, with water breaks and gas line issues, workers have dug up the road.
“We are not going to remove that beautiful canopy of trees to have a little bit nicer asphalt,” he said. “We have done a major tree trimming with AEP on New Gambier Road, but it is not a long-lived road.
The city’s street department will work on drainage improvements where the ditch is washing out.
Chip sealing the road would smooth out dips and extend the roadway’s service life.
Part of New Gambier Road is in Pleasant Township. Ball said the township plans to chip seal its portion, and the work would be done simultaneously by a single contractor.
Edgewood Road
Ball said Edgewood Road is probably the poorest street in the entire city.
Improvements will be a maintenance activity, not a reconstruction or restoration project.
Ball said Columbia Gas plans to replace its gas line, which is located in the ditch on the east side of the road. The company has not yet requested a permit for the work.
“The water line is in poor condition, sanitary is in poor condition, and the storm sewer is in failure,” Ball said.
The engineer said the chip seal “will get additional life for the road.”
The city previously received $2 million in ODOT money and $700,000 from the Central Ohio Rural Planning Organization (CORPO) to improve Edgewood Road.
After voters overturned the Edgewood Road improvement project in the 2024 General Election, the city returned the grant money.
Residents cited a lack of transparency and opposition to extending the road to Coshocton Avenue as reasons for overturning the project.
Glen Road
Although Glen Road needs resurfacing, Ball said improvements are unlikely in 2026 because the project must first replace four culverts.
The section of Glen Road abutting Mount Vernon Nazarene University’s property is in the city; the remainder is in Clinton Township.
Several years ago, the city and township partnered on a chip seal project for the west end of Glen Road.
The city also paid to have the township put covers over the manholes.