Oil and Stone
The Town of Penfield treats 10 to 12 percent of 144 miles of town-owned roads every spring with an application of oil and stone to preserve the asphalt surface and extend the life of town roads. Project schedules vary depending on weather conditions and equipment availability.
The Town does not apply oil and stone as an alternative to paving; rather, surface treatment is preventative maintenance to prolong the life of roadways, similar to the practice of residential driveway sealing.
Oil is applied to seal the pavement surface and fill any small surface cracks that allow water to get into the pavement and cause premature failure, shortening the life of the road. Crushed stone adds friction as a wear surface to minimize slippery roads and improve safety.
The resurfacing process moves along quickly, and access to treated roads is disrupted for only 10 to 15 minutes. Roads can be driven immediately at a reduced speed of 10 to 15 mph. DPW street sweepers follow the application within a few weeks to clean up the loose stone.
Please view our Projects of Community Interest Page page for annual oil and stone project updates.
Winter Snow and Ice Management
In winter, The DPW performs snow and ice control operations on roughly 290 lane miles of town roads plus another 200 lane miles of state and county roads for which the Town is reimbursed annually. Together, these hundreds of lane miles are grouped into 18 townwide plow routes. Routes are prioritized to provide the greatest to benefit to travelers and emergency services. The highest priority roads are main thoroughfares like Routes 441, 250, Browncroft Blvd./Atlantic Ave., Empire Blvd., then secondary roads like Five Mile Line Road, Panorama Trail, Creek Street, and Plank Road, followed by subdivisions. Each route takes approximately four hours to complete. Additionally, four sidewalk plows clear 45 miles of sidewalks on main roads.