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S.C. asks residents to chip in for asphalt By Melissa Martin SHADY COVE � Neighbors who travel pothole-filled Sarma Drive can enjoy an asphalt avenue next summer if they are willing to help pay for it, city officials say. The city will apply a chip seal to Sarma Drive if neighbors contribute half the cost, about $266 per property owner. "Right now, it�s a bear cat, nothing but potholes," said Bob Ivester, a Sarma Drive resident for 10 years. "It�s just one long stretch of tearing up your car." The city mailed letters to about 42 property owners who live on Sarma Drive or use it to get to their homes, said Elise Smurzynski, Shady Cove administrator. The city wants neighbors to fill out the portion that asks about participation in the asphalt project and then mail, fax or drop it off at City Hall by Jan. 19. The city already has a bid from Jackson County Road Department to apply a macadam pavement, or chip seal, at a cost of $22,325, Smurzynski said. Neighbors would pay $11,162. If the project is approved, crews would begin work on a hot day this summer. Shady Cove is in the process of improving city streets, many of which are unpaved, in poor condition and not very long. "The city usually uses its funds for little, short streets," Smurzynski said. "But that won�t work for a street as long and in as bad of shape as Sarma." Because Sarma needs to be repaired soon and the city doesn�t have enough funds to do it, the city council is asking residents to pay half the cost, she said. Some 1,660 feet of Sarma needs asphalt. "This is a one-time circumstance to make significant improvements rather than just do a tiny bit at a time," she said. Some neighbors, however, want the city to pave the road by rolling out a coat of hot asphalt instead of applying the chip seal, a layering of rock and oil. "We want two to three inches of solid pavement, just like a highway," Ivester said. "With chip seal, they simply spray oil, add rock, more oil, more rock, and it�s only good for five to seven years." The strength of the road base determines how long chip seal will last, according to Jackson County Road Department Director Joe Strahl. Eighty percent to 95 percent of county roads have a chip seal, said Dale Petrasek, Jackson County engineer. After about a year, chip seal has the same color and texture as pavement. Sarma Drive has never had a solid surface. A portion at the top was paved to meet city standards when developer Mike Malepsy built The Evening Shady Subdivision about four years ago. While paving lasts longer, it also costs 10 times more, Petrasek said. Road surfaces don�t come with a guarantee. But the way to make a road last longer is through maintenance, keeping the drainage system working, adding a chip seal layer when needed and fixing potholes, he said. Something must be done about Sarma Drive, according to Ivester. He recently went door to door polling residents about pitching in. He collected $50 each from nine neighbors to pour a load of red shale over the well-traveled street as a temporary fix. But neighbors hope Sarma will have a suitable surface soon. Added Sarma Drive resident Larry Miron, "You can�t sit outside in the summertime; there�s too much dust." Reach reporter Melissa Martin at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.