South Sound road repairs suffer from higher oil cost

By Christian Hilland Keri Brenner | The Olympian • Published August 08, 2008

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Washington drivers already are experiencing pain at the pump because of higher oil prices. Soon, they could face more discomfort behind the wheel, too.

Area transportation officials say they have scaled back or delayed road projects because of the rising cost of asphalt, which is made with crude oil. Those delays could create bigger problems in the future, because the longer a road deteriorates, the more it costs to repair it.

The asphalt overlay placed on roads typically is made with sand and gravel, held together with a liquid binder called liquid asphalt that is distilled from crude oil.

The cost of a barrel of crude oil hit a record high of $147 in July but now is hovering around $120. The price of the binder has doubled this year because of both the higher price of crude oil and low production capacity.

In Olympia

Facing increased costs, the city of Olympia delayed repaving aging stretches of Fifth Avenue and Columbia Street, said David Riker, the city's transportation manager. The city budgeted $2 million this year to hire contractors to maintain its streets.

In addition, Riker estimated that it will cost about $93,000 this year for city crews to fill potholes and make other emergency repairs, $20,000 more than budgeted.

"That increase is only because of the cost of asphalt," he said.

In Lacey

Lacey budgets $1 million to contract with a company to repave aging neighborhood streets each summer. The equivalent of about 4 miles of lanes will be paved in about a month — down form the usual 8 miles, City Engineer Roger Schoessel said. The decrease is the result of the higher cost of asphalt and streets that require more extensive work, he said.

In Tumwater

Tumwater spends $250,000 every three years to repair its aging neighborhood streets. That work isn't being done this year, but Public Works Director Jay Eaton said less will be done when the time comes again.

Thurston County

In the midst of budget tightening, Thurston County has reduced the number of lane miles that receive "chip seals" from 80 to 22, and staff members are thinking about narrowing the thickness of asphalt overlays from 2 inches to 1.5 inches, said Brent Payton, the roads department operations manager.