Highway robbery? : Asphalt prices impact city’s road paving schedule
Posted on Saturday, July 19, 2008
Increased asphalt prices will mean fewer road paving projects this year.
Terry Gulley, transportation manager for the city of Fayetteville, said the city's asphalt supplier is having difficulty getting the oil product that's used to bind the asphalt together because of rising crude oil prices.
The city is going through its secondary supplier, he said, which is able to provide the product but the prices have increased significantly.
As the cost of crude oil goes up, asphalt prices also increase. The city was getting it for about $ 34 per ton. Now prices are fluctuating between $ 49 and $ 51 per ton.
"The increased costs are inhibiting our ability to accomplish as much as we want to," Gulley said. "It's going to eat up our funds a lot quicker."
Gulley said the transportation division aims to resurface about 18 miles of roads between March and December each year.
"We try to get to that number. If we pave that every year for 15 years, we've covered most of our streets before they've worn out," he said.
Gulley said the city won't be able to reach that goal this year because of the price increase.
"We wont be able to do everything we were intending to do this year because we'll run out of funding," he said.
He estimates the city can afford to buy about 11, 000 more tons of asphalt. The city has paved 8. 5 miles of road so far this year.
If the price stays where it is, Gulley said, the city can pave another 5. 5 miles.
"That's if it stays where it is, and I question that pretty hard," he said.
Gulley said he doesn't anticipate prices to go down any time soon. The city recently got an updated bid from its third supplier for $ 73 per ton of asphalt.
It's not an option to go outside the region for asphalt, he said, because the diesel costs are so high.
The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department is also feeling the effects of increased asphalt prices.
Spokesman Randy Ort said increased prices are definitely having an impact on operations.
"We're seeing it in the contracts we award for construction, and it also affects the maintenance work that we do," he said.
Despite the price, the highway department hasn't delayed any of its planned road projects, Ort said.
"We're still going to spend all the money we have available, but we may not be able to do as much as we would like," he said.
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
