In 2010, Division 10 of the North Carolina Department of Transportation was interested in extending the life of several hot mix asphalt roads in Stanly County without having to use contract paving funds to accomplish that goal.
One of the roads chosen was SR-1731, “Sweet Home Church Road,” (500-800 ADT) which had some light transverse cracking and was showing signs of early oxidation. It was decided that a double seal on top of the asphalt would extend the life of the pavement by several years.
A local hard rock, 78M, was used for the first layer of treatment and lightweight #9 was used on the ride surface to add another seal and ensure a smooth ride. A #9 specification is essentially all lightweight aggregate material retained on the #9 sieve.
Some reflective cracks appeared in 2015 and rubberized crack seal was applied to those areas. The surface is still holding up well and no further maintenance treatments are scheduled at this time.