Do You Have Questions?
Dust Control is a process where a liquid product is applied to an existing unpaved gravel or dirt road surface to reduce the amount of dust that becomes airborne from passing vehicles, wind erosion, and aggregate loss. Road dust is made up of fine particles that are important to the stability of the road. These fines are small enough to pass through a No. 200 sieve and feel like powder when rubbed between your fingers. When fines blow away, the gravel road begins to break down and you can watch it “escape” in the form of dust. Traffic then scatters the coarser aggregate, causing potholes, ruts, washboards, loss of profile, loss of ditch lines, and other problems. Wetting the road surface helps to keep dust-related problems in check. Moisture helps fines adhere to each other and aggregate, allowing for optimum compaction. Our product helps keep the fines from escaping, thereby holding the materials together and ON the road.
We use Calcium Chloride. It is a water-based, odorless, colorless, non-flammable, non-toxic, environmentally friendly product. This product works by drawing and holding moisture from the air into the treated road surface, thereby reducing airborne dust. The moisture retained keeps the surface plastic enough so fines can migrate into gaps formed between aggregates under the varying pressure of the car and truck traffic. In short, calcium chloride does the following:
• Reduces the amount of gravel needed in construction and maintenance
• Controls dust and reinforces stabilization
• Helps improve roads when used over time
• Extends the service life of the gravel-wearing course, decreasing blading and shaping.
There are many variables in determining how long one application will last. They include preparation of the road, application rate of the product, weather conditions, the type & quality of aggregate material on the road, traffic volume, and general maintenance of the road. On a normally-traveled, unpaved road with good aggregate and good preparation (grading & watering), one application should last several weeks to several months and may last up to a full year. Treating the same area year after year, you will notice even better dust suppression due to the residual effects from the year before combined with the new treatment on the top surface.
Call the City, County, Township, or Road Department that maintains your road, and tell them you plan to have dust control applied on your road and make sure you have permission to do so. Make sure that the product(s) mentioned here are approved by the county for use on your public road. Request that they prep your road before treatment and make sure you understand what their procedures are for maintaining the road after treatment. It is ideal if the road crews do not grade over the treatment, but please make sure you ask what their policies & procedures are. You do not need to obtain permission or product approval for dust control treatment on private property or roads.
First, you are responsible for measuring the length & width of the portion of your road that you want treated. It is important to accurately measure both the width and length so your quote and treatment are appropriate for the actual area you want to be treated.
Second, you are responsible for marking your start and stop points clearly with flags and/or fluorescent paint. (Marker flags can be found at your local hardware store).
NOTE: Some counties will put their signage up to keep their graders from grading over your treatment later in the season; the county’s signs will be your markers when our driver comes to spray, so please make sure these signs are placed correctly for the distance you want.
Third, you are responsible for getting the designated area prepared by having it graded. Watering your road is also helpful.
• If the county/township/road dept. will be grading and/or watering, you are responsible for ensuring they will do this before treatment. We will notify the county of who is registered to coordinate scheduling for prep, but the request to the county/township/roads dept. needs to come from you, the resident.
• If you cannot get the City, County, Township, or Road Department to do all or part of the preparation work, or if you are on a private road, you may need to hire someone to do all or part of the preparation work. Ideally, you will want
to have your road graded & watered (watering is optional) within a 24-36 hour period before the dust control product is delivered and applied.
Our goal is to apply your dust control as early as we can. Typically, the treatment of roads begins in the first part of June. This can be earlier or later depending on several factors. Your treatment will be scheduled according to your county’s requested notice for preparation, spray truck availability, and weather conditions. We will contact you by phone to schedule your treatment. Rain CAN delay us at the “last minute”. We don’t want to spray when there is standing or running water on the surface we are treating. The ground being damp/moist IS a big plus for product absorption, however. Standing or running water will carry the product OFF the road surface during application and/or until absorbed into the road. Please know that we do keep a close eye on the weather and forecasts to know when the rain is too much for the application to absorb correctly.
Please call us at ? to obtain a quote for this year’s order. We have enclosed an application that you can then return with your payment. Please be sure to fill out completely, read and initial each point on the application, and provide any special instructions that our applicator needs to be aware of when he begins to apply your dust control. Once we have your property scheduled, we will contact you by phone to advise you of the date.