The Escambia County Road Division, in the late 1990's and early 2000's, utilized a dirt road maintenance process called "Open Graded Cold Mix". This process mixes #57 size stone with a liquid asphalt/bituminous emulsion and applies it with a cold mix paving machine. The emulsion undergoes a chemical process which causes the mixture to set and harden. This program was very successful and greatly improved the quality of life for citizens in the rural areas of the county, while at the same time greatly reducing the County's routine maintenance demands.

Ten to thirteen years later, some of these roads have reached their life expectancy and have begun "raveling". Raveling is a condition in which the aggregate becomes loose and breaks away from the road. The County has found that the best approach to address these "raveling" roads is to sweep them and apply a "thin hot mix overlay". This work is performed by County maintenance crews at a significant cost savings versus contracting this work out as part of the Pavement Preservation Program.