LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department is turning to a cheaper road treatment to help refresh some of its busier highways and stretch maintenance dollars.

But the ”chip-seal’ treatment, which is typically a mixture of gravel and liquid asphalt, has prompted complaints from a handful of motorists because it requires them to drive on loose gravel for several days.

The department’s $50 million annual overlay program, which is a heavier maintenance program targeting high-volume highways, was eliminated because Congress couldn’t reach a deal on long-term federal funding for road and bridge construction.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/1gMtdvj ) reports that as a result, the chip-seal work has shifted to those busier roads, often in more urban areas.

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