georgiast
06-18-2008, 07:53 PM
Went up to Suches on Hwy 60 today and was really taken aback by the slipperiness of the fresh tar snakes. Happened across the following on the FJR forum whilst googling tar snakes. Thought anyone headed up that way might like to know.
http://www.fjrforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=105187
HERE IS THE ORIGINAL POST:
Here's a heads up to all riders in Northern Georgia. GDOT is in the process of installing a new type of seam sealer on Highway 60 north of Stone Pile Gap extending to the top of the mountain at Woody Gap. Road maintenance personnel refer to this new sealer as "rubberized asphalt". It seems to be more elevated above the road surface than the old style water based product and seems to me to be MUCH SLICKER than the old product. I have experienced slides on these "tar snakes" in hot and dry weather. I can only imagine what cold temps and rainy weather will add to this environment.
This new product is supposed to be much longer lived than the old style product and is NOT supposed to "wear in" or get less elevated OR less slick over time. Its use is designed to extend the useful life of the roadway as it keeps water from permeating the road bed where subsequent freezing can cause the road surface to break up.
This same type of sealer is also in use on Highway 9 north of Dawsonville.
Be particularly careful on these roadways whether dry or wet as significant tire slippage or wheel oscillation can be produced by this new seam sealer. Maintenance personnel offered today to look into possible solutions to this perceived problem of reduced traction on the seam sealer.
One good piece of news from my research of this problem is that money was previously budgeted for the re-paving of Highway 60 from Woody Gap to the Fannin County Line. I made a personal appeal to the project manager to try to minimize the effects of corner cutting 4 wheel traffic causing gravel to be thrown onto the highway on the particularly curvy sections about 1.5 miles north of Suches.
If you find these roadways to be hazardous, please POLITELY voice your concern to the DOT office at 706-348-4848.
Give fair warning to your motorcycling and bicycling buddies!!! I have a concern that some of our comrades may start braking when small slides occur and cause a small problem to become a much larger and more hazardous issue.
http://www.fjrforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=105187
HERE IS THE ORIGINAL POST:
Here's a heads up to all riders in Northern Georgia. GDOT is in the process of installing a new type of seam sealer on Highway 60 north of Stone Pile Gap extending to the top of the mountain at Woody Gap. Road maintenance personnel refer to this new sealer as "rubberized asphalt". It seems to be more elevated above the road surface than the old style water based product and seems to me to be MUCH SLICKER than the old product. I have experienced slides on these "tar snakes" in hot and dry weather. I can only imagine what cold temps and rainy weather will add to this environment.
This new product is supposed to be much longer lived than the old style product and is NOT supposed to "wear in" or get less elevated OR less slick over time. Its use is designed to extend the useful life of the roadway as it keeps water from permeating the road bed where subsequent freezing can cause the road surface to break up.
This same type of sealer is also in use on Highway 9 north of Dawsonville.
Be particularly careful on these roadways whether dry or wet as significant tire slippage or wheel oscillation can be produced by this new seam sealer. Maintenance personnel offered today to look into possible solutions to this perceived problem of reduced traction on the seam sealer.
One good piece of news from my research of this problem is that money was previously budgeted for the re-paving of Highway 60 from Woody Gap to the Fannin County Line. I made a personal appeal to the project manager to try to minimize the effects of corner cutting 4 wheel traffic causing gravel to be thrown onto the highway on the particularly curvy sections about 1.5 miles north of Suches.
If you find these roadways to be hazardous, please POLITELY voice your concern to the DOT office at 706-348-4848.
Give fair warning to your motorcycling and bicycling buddies!!! I have a concern that some of our comrades may start braking when small slides occur and cause a small problem to become a much larger and more hazardous issue.