New Process Provides an Alternative for Enhancing Street Surfaces
By Lauren Chaffee
There has been a debate between the merchants and municipalities in New
Hampshire over the appearance of the sidewalks. Merchants like the area in front of their
stores laid with brick or cobblestone, but municipalities prefer to cut back on injuries
and maintenance by keeping the surface flat. Now, with a new process, there is a versatile
and affordable compromise that is sure to please everyone. This new process involves
imprinting and coating freshly laid asphalt to produce the look and feel of hand-laid
brick. Once the imprint is made, the asphalt is then coated with colored cement modified
acrylic latex and sealer that is estimated to last two to three years. The merchants are
pleased with the look of their sidewalks, and the municipalities are content with a
joint-free surface that reduces trip hazard, and does frost heave or weeds to grow
through.
Not only does this new street texturizing process look nice and cut
back on maintenance, it is more cost-effective; a street or sidewalk can get the look of
brick for a fraction of the cost of brick. It can also be installed up to ten times faster
than bricklaying, which means less traffic disruption. Another advantage is that it is
less susceptible to cracking than brick is, which is especially important in the extreme
hot and cold climate of the northeast. The uses are not limited to streets and sidewalks,
however. Bike paths, crosswalks, driveways, and parking lots are also included in its many
uses, among others.
The town of Durham has already caught on to this innovation, and has begun to use it on Main Street. So far, the merchants in the area, the town officials, and the maintenance personnel seem happy with the results. To learn more about this process contact the UNH T2 Center.