27 miles of rural roads this summer.
(Photo J. Maus/BikePortland)
Washington County road crews are gearing up for several major chip seal projects that will impact popular rural roads during the peak summer riding season.
For the county, chip seal is a way to extend the life of road surface and save them money in repairs and maintenance in the long-run; but to people who love riding on smooth roads, it means more bumps due to the tiny little rocks (chips) that are laid down in the process. The projects also mean that the roads will be closed briefly during and immediately after the work is completed.
Washington County is aware of these issues and they mention bicycling and offer this explanation of the chip seal process on their website: