If you’ve driven on eastbound Ocean Boulevard headed toward the city, you may have noticed that the surface of the two approaches on Terminal Island has changed color. The brownish coating on both approaches is the overlay of the roadway’s polyester polymer concrete (PPC) surface.
While overlaying PPC on the concrete roadway isn’t paving in the same manner as asphalt, you can think of the process in a similar way. Once applied, PPC develops a strong chemical bond with the concrete below it and provides a durable road surface that typically lasts upwards of 30 years. In the coming weeks, the striping and road marking will occur, then overhead signage will be installed. At that point, the approaches will look close to their final form.
Starting next week, all of the PPC-overlaying machinery will move to the approaches on the east side of the channel and begin the same process there.
