Saint John has purchased a new asphalt recycler for winter road repairs. (Image: City of Saint John/Facebook)
Saint John has a new weapon in its arsenal to combat those pesky potholes in the winter — an asphalt recycler.
The machine reheats new or used asphalt, creating a hot mix to repair potholes and for surface patching.
Jeff Hussey, the city’s director of public works and transportation, said they used to rely mainly on cold mix in the winter, when asphalt plants are closed.
“A cold mix is a more granular, not as fine material that is held together with some polymers that never let it really cure,” said Hussey.
“The problem being with that is that it’s a temporary fix, so we continuously have to go back to that.”
The city purchased its first asphalt recycler in 2000, but at half the size of the new addition, it was only used for specific smaller jobs.
Hussey said while the new two-ton recycler will allow them to use hot mix asphalt more often, cold mix is still a good alternative and will never go away for good.
“The two asphalt recyclers that we have, they are pieces of machinery and they do occasionally break down and need maintenance, and we can’t go without having material to fill hazards in our streets,” he said.
Cold mix can also be used at the base of larger cuts so it does not require as much hot mix asphalt, said Hussey.
He said the $60,000 machine will eventually pay for itself, noting hot mix is about one-third of the cost of cold mix.
Crews can also use the leftover material from asphalt jobs during the summer construction season that ends up sitting in a pile at one of their facilities.
“That is material that has already been bought and paid for, and now we can utilize that material in this recycler and recover that at zero costs to the taxpayers,” he said.
Hussey encourages residents who see a pothole or road defect to report it to the city by calling 506-658-4455 or emailing services@saintjohn.ca.
Follow
