Slurry seal program
Slurry sealing is one of many effective tools in the City’s preventative maintenance program and is typically applied to residential streets that are in fair to good condition. In the summer of 2022, we extended the life of neighborhood streets by applying a slurry seal to more than 5 centerline miles of residential streets in the Big Gulch North, Big Gulch South, Harbour Heights, Harbour Pointe, Pacific Place, and Blue Heron Blvd neighborhoods. This work was a part of the citywide Pavement Preservation Program funded by the voter-approved Transportation Benefit District.
Please note that Phase 4, post-construction cleanup, is still ongoing. See below for details about what this work entails.
The slurry seal process
Slurry seal is a cost-effective way to resurface neighborhood streets and is used by many municipalities locally and nationally. This quarter-inch layer of water, asphalt emulsion, and course sand is typically applied to streets that are in fair to good condition. You will see work in phases over the next couple months:
Phase 1 – Pavement repair
The contractor sealed cracks in the roads and repaired small areas of damaged pavement. The road remained open, but drivers may have experienced temporary delays.
Phase 2 – Construction preparation
The contractor did a final sweep and covered all iron grates/lids and monuments just before the slurry seal application was applied.
Phase 3 – Slurry seal application
Crews applied the pre-mixed slurry seal mixture to the surface of existing pavement from the rear of a truck. When the slurry seal is first applied, the material is brown and sticky and must have time to dry properly. This work required a one-day road closure.
Phase 4 – Post-construction cleanup
The new road surface has more friction and sheds some of the aggregate for a few weeks after application. Work crews will return to sweep the streets approximately one week, one month and three months after application. In addition, crews will repaint street markings.
Where and when we will slurry seal?
Big Gulch North
Big Gulch South
Harbour Heights
Harbour Pointe
Pacific Place
Blue Heron Blvd
How does the City of Mukilteo select streets for slurry seal application?
Mukilteo uses a Pavement Management System (PMS) that is updated every 2 years. The core of the system is pavement surface quality ratings for every street in the City other than the State highways which remain a responsibility of the State Department of Transportation. From that, the system recommends a program of annual expenditures that will help maintain good quality streets at that level or higher by preventing or reducing the wear from weather and vehicles. Streets rated as “good” or “very good” by the PMS are recommended for slurry seal.
Materials
- Mailed pre-construction postcard:
- Big Gulch North, Big Gulch South, and Harbour Heights
- Pacific Place, Blue Heron Blvd, and Harbour Pointe
- Mailed construction postcard:
- Big Gulch North, Big Gulch South, and Harbour Heights
- Pacific Place, Blue Heron Blvd, and Harbour Pointe
Questions?
If you have any questions, please contact Gael Fisk, City Engineer, at slurrysealinfo@mukilteowa.gov.
