Start of work delayed one day by rain on Feb. 24
A Sarasota County Public Works Department pavement rejuvenation project was planned to take place between Feb. 24 and March 3, county staff announced on Feb. 21.
However, because of the widespread rain on Feb. 24, the start of the work was delayed until Tuesday, Feb. 25, the Public Works staff told The Sarasota News Leader after receiving an inquiry from the publication.
The initiative was scheduled to take place in the following communities: Gulf Gate, Gulf Gate Woods, Nokomis and South Venice, a county news release said.
“Lane closures are to be expected,” the release pointed out.
County staff has provided assurance that property owners “will always have access” to their driveways, the release added. Further, Public Works staff said in the release, “We ask drivers to please drive slowly if they accidentally enter a freshly treated area.”
Individuals were being asked to remove parked cars from the affected roadways between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
During a May 2021 presentation to the County Commission, as part of a budget workshop, Spencer Anderson, the director of Public Works, discussed what he characterized at the time as a “pavement preservation” initiative that began earlier that year.
The pavement rejuvenation process, he pointed out, is considered a best practice in other Florida communities and across the United States. It extends the life of a road’s level of service by 20% to 30%, he added.
A Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) document says a pavement preservation program “consists primarily of three components: preventive maintenance, minor rehabilitation (non structural), and some routine maintenance activities …” A later FHWA document pointed out, “A common mantra of pavement preservation is keeping good roads good. Constructing quality pavement preservation treatments when the pavement condition is still satisfactory can impede deterioration, extend service life, and improve functionality in a cost-effective manner while also enhancing safety and contributing to customer satisfaction,” the FHWA added.
In March 2021, the county website’s Traffic Operations Pavement page noted, county staff started using “a pavement preservation product called Reclamite on county roads. Through a contract with Pavement Technology Inc., this asphalt rejuvenation treatment, which has been used by neighboring counties and cities, will replace the vital ingredients that have been lost from the pavement binder over time due to exposure to sun’s UV rays. This [preventive] maintenance process is a cost-effective way to extend the life of the pavement, helping Sarasota County protect one of our largest assets and increase the pavement service life.”
When it is sprayed on the road surface, the webpage continued, Reclamite initially appears pink, so workers can check that they have covered the roadway before the product is completely absorbed into the pavement. “The pavement is then lightly sanded to improve friction until the product gets absorbed and the sand is vacuumed the next day.”
For more details about the latest projects, call Sarasota County at 311 or 941-861-5000.