Why do I see entire parking lots get a coat of sealant, but never really see streets or highways get a large coat of sealant?
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For example: [https://youtu.be/Lmd1r0P0GWE?t=192](https://youtu.be/Lmd1r0P0GWE?t=192)
In: 709
They do, it’s just a different sealant. For example, the Texas Department of Transportation has just under 298,500 lane miles (i.e. if a road is 2 center miles long and consists of 2 lanes, one in each direction, that is 4 lane miles) of roadway under it’s jurisdiction. TxDOT maintains a 7 year seal coat rotation meaning every 7 years a sealant is applied to all aggregate roadways (concrete paving will sometimes get a seal coat as well depending on it’s condition and whether or not the contractor was paying attention to what they were doing). The sealant isn’t a seal coat like referenced above though but a chip coat. It essentially consists of a based seal coat and then a rock coat on the sealant while it is still wet. This provides traction and allows water to run along the rock layer instead of on top of the roadway.
Most of this work is done in summer and depending on the condition of the road, minor resurfacing may also be performed at this time as well. There’s more that goes into it but that’s the basics of summer road work in Texas…
Source: Former TxDOT inspector
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