Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development Uses Cape Seal

Louisiana’s US Route 84 was suffering from extensive pavement wheel path rutting and shoving. To correct the problem, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD) provided a budget of $2.25 million to execute repairs for the 17.5-mile length of road. 


  1. A combination of all of these treatments was executed and is believed to have extended the lifetime of the roadway for an additional 10 years.

Backstory

Problem

Louisiana’s US Route 84 was suffering from extensive pavement wheel path rutting and shoving.

“It gives us a smoother surface, improves skid resistance and makes our road maintenance dollars go further. We’re very happy with it.

LaDOTD Design Engineer

Solution

Pavement engineers determined that the best course of action was to use a combination of microsurfacing, a cape seal and hot mix asphalt to repair the road. Micro surfacing would have been sufficient to address the ruts, but the road was also suffering from cracking that required a chip seal treatment. To rectify this, a cape seal was applied, which is a combination of chip seals and microsurfacing treatments. Other areas on the road were suffering from shoving due to heavy truck traffic and constant braking; these areas required a treatment of hot mix asphalt. 

Photos