Along with the improvements being made to roads from the five year roads millage that was approved by residents last fall, the City has added an additional method to improve roads that are not part of the five year plan. This method, called Cape Sealing is being funded from money that is in the City's road fund and not from millage funds.
Cape sealing is a process which involves rolling small stone chips into a layer of asphalt, followed later by an application of a slurry micro-surface. A road that is cape sealed prevents water penetration; reduces subsequent damage to the roadbed; provides a new road surface; and can be done in one-day.
Since the cape seal technique can be used on residential streets as well as highways, the process significantly extends the life of a pavement.
It is important to recognize that cape seal is not a “new street” and is not a permanent solution. The average life expectancy of a road that is cape sealed is around 10 years – enough time to properly repair the road later.
The reason to utilize this technique is because of the cost, as well as the great need of road repair across Garden City. While a mile of new road could cost $1 million, cape seal may cost around $50,000 a mile. As a temporary solution, our hope is to revitalize and add life to as many roads as possible, until the day we have the money to fully replace each roadway. In considering the below map, please understand that cape seal is used on asphalt roads and cannot be used on roads that are too damaged for repair. In other words, for different reasons, we cannot cape seal every road in the City - but this is only a beginning.
As we continually thank the Garden City residents for voting for the 2018 Roads Bond, especially those voters
that did not see their road on the list, we hope this new plan will help many of those voters that voted to help others with no direct benefit themselves