It'll be good for your commute in the long run. In the short term, you're going to want to leave for work early.

Chip sealing of roads across Ada County begins today, specifically you'll see crews at Five Mile Road and Edna Street later today. Ada County Highway District says that while chip sealing can be a headache for drivers while the work is going on, it's necessary to extend the life of roads and can actually save taxpayers money. Nicole DuBois from ACHD explains:

It's a very important maintenance program that extends the life of our roadways. Instead of having to do an overlay, which is quite a bit more expensive, this is preserving that roadway at a fraction of the cost to taxpayers.

According to DuBoise, the delays and detours will be minimal:

We understand it's an inconvenience to motorists. Generally, vehicles can drive on a chip seal surface within a few minutes after it’s completed, and then at the very end of the process we go back through an apply a fog seal, and so cars can generally drive on that within half hour.

To let you know where you can and cannot park your vehicle during chip sealing, no parking signs will be posted 24 to 48 hours before the process begins. ACHD says all chip sealing work in Ada County should be completed by September.

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