As the daytime temperatures start to rise and days get longer, you will start to see more and more orange cones and construction signs show up across the City. Construction season is here and like all other years, the City of Beatrice Street Department has a busy season planned.
One major street project will begin May 10th on West Scott Street from Sumner Street to Sherman Street. This project has been talked about and on the City’s 1- and 6-year long-range construction plan for over a decade. Each year, another project with higher traffic counts moved up and took its spot to be replaced. This project will keep the roadway closed to traffic while work is being completed.
This will be the year of armor coats and roadway sealants. Along with armor coating our streets this year we will be testing a new roadway sealant. With armor coats, the roadway is sprayed with an emulsified oil at approximately .30 thousandth of an inch. Gravel is then applied directly to the hot oil and rolled into the oil and allowed to cool. Excess gravel is then swept up and removed from the roadway. This form of sealant creates a sealed surface that will help keep out the elements and increase the life of the roadway.
This summer we will be testing a new form of sealant that uses an epoxy that is applied to the roadway similarly to the emulsified oil with armor coats. When dry, an onyx sealant is applied directly to the epoxy. This sealant has onyx aggregate in the sealant. When cooled, this sealant will not have to be swept and will leave the roadway black in color. Not having to go back and sweep up excess gravel as well as not having the dust from the gravel is something that I am looking forward to with this testing. Currently, we have approximately 4 miles of streets that will be sealed.
These projects along with the many other concrete and asphalt patching projects will have us working on many of your streets this summer.
For the last 2 years, the City of Beatrice has been planning on replacing the pedestrian bridge rails on the West Court bridge. A design was found and fabrication of the new railings was completed this spring. Currently, the City Street Department is working on replacing the old pedestrian railings with the new black decorative railings. I believe the new design of the railings along with new light poles will add a distinct look and add to the beauty of the river view.
Jason Moore
Street Superintendent