Streets

In order to prolong the life of Oskaloosa streets, the Streets Division fills potholes, replaces damaged concrete panels, chip seals (also called seal coat) certain streets, and performs crack sealing. These street improvements are completed by city staff and are separate from capital improvement projects. Capital improvement projects are approved and budgeted by City Council and typically bid out to local contractors.

Chip Seal (Seal Coat) 

Every year Oskaloosa's Streets Division chip seals approximately 5 miles (60-80 blocks) of Oskaloosa streets. This process consists of spraying asphalt emulsion road oil on a previously milled and compacted street base, and then immediately applying pea gravel aggregate ("chips") over the oil. The chips are then compacted and rolled into the oil to ensure the adhesion of the aggregate to the oil binder.  The chips are allowed to further build and strengthen the surface under traffic for several months, then swept in the Fall.  The result is a pavement surface with the same materials and benefits as an asphalt overlay, with added skid-resistance, and lesser cost.  Chip sealing is one of the most cost-effective street resurfacing options available.

A map and list of the roads which are planned to be chip sealed this year and a map of which were chip sealed last year can be found at the links below.

Street Sweeping

The Streets Division also performs street sweeping during two seasons every year. In the spring, sweeping is done in order to pick up the accumulated sand from winter snow and ice operations and again in the fall after trees have shed most of their leaves. The city has one street sweeping machine which typically runs early in the morning while traffic volume is still low.

Road Closures

Roads are sometimes closed for construction or for events. A list of current and upcoming road closures can be found below.

Road Closures

Updated 4-28-2021