The Asphalt of roads is very strong, but it still can't hold for ever. When the Asphalt comes loose, the state of the road can be in real trouble and mostly the drivers as well. But there are many techniques available to repair the road, but most of these techniques are not what you would call cheap, unlike the chip sealing, which can be used to repair the road at a lower cost.

This is Chip Sealingy

Chip Sealing is a way of paving the road with asphalt and chips (crushed stones) to repair the surface of the road. The new layer of asphalt and chips is directly laid on the old surface, before this can be done the roads needs to be roughly repaired so that there aren't any holes left. This new layer is about 5 centimeters thick and therefore very much cheaper than rebuilding the road in complete.

The Advantages

The main advantage are the lower costs, but that's not all. Also the time the road can be used can be largely extended, which means less work needs to be done and therefore the road will not be closed for a long time. Because the new pavement is a bit rougher it provides more grid for the cars, so every braking maneuver will need less time to stop. Safety is all in all an important factor, not only the braking but also the better conditions when its raining can help to reduce fatal accidents. In hot conditions, like on very warm day in the summer, the road can heal itself because of the asphalt which then melts and closes the cracks by following back together.

The Disadvantages

The chip sealing can only be used at roads with less than 2500 cars per day and it shouldn't be used at roads mainly made for trucks or other very big vehicles. The Surface will get smoother from time to time and therefore the safety of the road will change, the drivers need to adjust their driving style accordingly. The chip sealing is only an technique to extend the lifetime but earlier or later the road must be rebuild.

But other from these disadvantages the chip sealing really is the perfect method so save money, extend the lifetime of the road and ultimately save energy and thereby the environment. There are more information available on this subject at the wikipedia and the whole net.