Chip Seal

Street Maintenance Chip Seal ProgramChip Seal Flyer 2025_Pg1

The Street Operations & Maintenance Division seals the surface of about 100 blocks of its streets each year using the chip seal method. The City will usually chip seal the last two weeks of July and into the first week of August, depending on weather and other factors.

Chip sealing work for 2025 will run from July 21 to August 7 with work completed on the following streets:   

 See additional information and project area map.

   Chip Seal Flyer 2025_Pg2

 Chip Seal 2025                        From                    To  

  •  Lower Lincoln Hills Dr       Rattlesnake Dr       End of Pavement
  •  Turner St                           Scott St                  Worden Ave
  •  Worden Ave                      Turner St                 N 5th St
  • Holmes St                          Turner St                 Cooley St
  • Cooley St                           Worden Ave            Holmes St
  • N & S Curtis St S               3rd St W                  River Rd
  • N & S Davis St (Int)            S 3rd St W              River Rd
  • S 5th St W                          Russell St               Grant St
  • Grant St                              S 3rd St W              Ditch S of S 6th St W
  • Idaho St                              Russell St               California St
  • Dakota St                            Russell St               California St
  • Montana St                         Russell St               California St
  • Prince St                             Idaho St                  Wyoming St
  • Eaton St                              S 7th St W              50’ N of Mount Ave
  • Mount Ave                           Brooks St               S Higgins Ave
  • Hill St (Inc Pkg Lot)             Mount Ave              S Higgins Ave
  • S Higgins Ave                     Brooks St                South Ave
  • Brooks St                            Mount Ave              S Higgins Ave
  • North Ave                            W Johnson St        Garfield St
  • North Ave                            W 26th Ave             Reserve St
  • W Central Ave                     Reserve St              26th Ave
  • 26th Ave                              W Central Ave         North Ave W
  • W Sussex Ave                     Johnson St              W of Margaret St
  • Dixon Ave                            Stephens Ave          Bancroft St
  • Elk Hills Ct                           Garland Dr              Cul-de-sac
  • Elkview Ct                            Garland Dr              Cul-de-sac
  • Fairway Dr                            Highland Park Dr   End of Street
  • Kelsey Ct                              Cam Ct                   N to Cul-de-sac
  • Kelsey Ct                              Christian Dr            S to Cul-de-sac
  • Joy Dr                                   Christian Dr            Brooke Lynn Ct
  • Bundy Ln                              Drake Dr                 Marias St
  • Drake Dr                               S100’ from Carla Jo Ln  End of Drake Ln
  • Max Dr                                  Shaver Dr              Jenaya Ct
  • Andrea Ln                             Cara Jo Ln             Drake Ln
  • Invermere Pkwy                    Carla Jo Ln            Drake Ln
  • Dublin St                               O’Leary St              S to Alley
  • Killarney Way                        Dublin St                End
  • O’Shaughnesy St                  O’Leary St S          to Alley
  • American Way (Int)               Reserve St             Connery Way

Benefits

The main reasons for chip sealing Missoula’s streets are:

  • to save money by delaying more costly reconstruction work,
  • to maintain the existing pavement condition by delaying further aging from sun exposure,
  • to provide a moisture barrier, which helps prevent potholes, and
  • to improve the texture of the street for skid resistance.

How We Chip Seal

  1. Clean the street of any debris and patch any holes or cracks.
  2. Apply hot liquid asphalt (oil) on the street. The temperature of this oil is 140-180 degrees F.
  3. Apply the 3/8-inch washed aggregate (chips) quickly over the hot asphalt. Rubber-tire rollers then set the rock into the fresh oil. The chips are left on the street for 2 or 3 weeks to ensure they embed into the asphalt as much as possible
  4. Sweep the street to remove surplus chips.

What Residents Should Do

  • Please drive slowly and avoid spinning wheels or making sharp turns on the newly sealed surface. These cause permanent ruts and may damage vehicle paint.
  • Ensure trees are pruned to a minimum of 14 feet over the street to the inside edge of the curb line (per Missoula Municipal Code 12.32). Trees not meeting this requirement may be trimmed by the City in order for equipment to move under them and access the entire street.

Did You Know?

Dump trucks are pulled backwards while chipping.

The chipper has a bar on the back and the dump trucks back into this to lock into position. They are then pulled backwards by the chipper with their box in the air dumping out chips.

Past Chip Sealing Projects

  1. 1 Chip Seal 2019 (2)
  2. 2 Chip Seal 2019 (4)
  3. 3 Chip Seal 2019 (9)
  4. 4 Chip Seal 2019 (10)
  5. 5 Street Crew Chip Sealing street
  6. 6 Street Crew Chip Sealing street
  7. 7 Street Crew Chip Sealing street