ASPHALTopics | Fall 2020 | VOL 33 | NO 3

crack sealants are no longer effective
and the owner does not have funding
to perform conventional repairs and
rehabilitation. These sections have
been in place anywhere from a few
months to more than three years in
cities including the City of Hamilton,
City of Cambridge, Niagara-on-the-
Lake, and City of Brantford.
The City of Cambridge has been using
MACSEAL M.A.R.S. to preserve its
pavement in addition to milling down
damaged areas and refilling them with
HMA. “Cambridge is looking for new
methods and technologies to aid in
pavement preservation,” Laros says.
“We started to use polyolefin fibres in
our asphalt when we are doing partial
depth resurfacing to help prolong
the life of the road surface. We apply
another durable water proof coating
‘Liquid Road’ to our chip seal roads
to help lessen water penetration and
prolong chip seal roads.”
The brooms scrub the asphalt emulsion into cracks and gaps in the roadway,
as well as providing a protective seal over the entire treated surface. A specially
formulated emulsion is used to rejuvenate the existing asphalt cement, restoring
some of its flexibility.
FiberMat is a stress absorbing membrane interlayer (SAMI). It is not typically left
exposed to traffic and is usually placed on an existing or milled surface before
a standard overlay or cover aggregate application. FiberMat combats reflective
cracking by laying down a layer of polymer-modified asphalt emulsion onto the
roadway, followed by a layer of chopped fiberglass strands. Next, a second ››
Norjohn Contracting offers several
products to support pavement
preservation including Ultra-Thin
Bonded Wearing Course, Scrub Seal
and FiberMat. Ultra-Thin Bonded
Wearing Course is placed on asphalt
surfaces using a specialized spray
paver. The process begins with a
heavy application of a polymer-modified
asphalt emulsion onto the roadway,
followed by the paving screed. A smooth
drum roller helps seat the aggregate
into the heavy bond coat to provide a
smooth riding surface. The entire lift
is approximately 15 mm thick and does
not require compaction.
According to the company, Ultra-
Thin Bonded Wearing Course requires
minimal preparation, seals the existing
pavement, and restores ride and skid
resistance. Once the materials have
been placed, the road can be reopened
to regular traffic within 15 minutes.
Scrub Seal works much like applying
a chip seal treatment to a roadway.
The difference lies in the array of
differently-angled broom heads
dragged behind the application truck.
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