By the end of the year the city hopes to purchase an asphalt recycler as a better way of dealing with its potholes.
"Motorists and cyclists will reap the rewards of new road rehabilitation technology to be procured this year by the City of Prince George," said Friday's release.
It would cost $175,000 at the current purchase price for a Bagela BA10000 Ashpalt Rycler.
Every hour the portable machine can produce up to 10 tonnes of a "hot mix."
That yields better results espeically in cold and wet conditions than the current approach where the city uses a cold-mix material which doesn't stay put when used to fill potholes.
City crews try to use the hot mix when they can, the release said, but that type of patching only begins when commercial plants open in mid-May to early June.
"This unit will provide multiple benefits for residents. It means we won't have to wait until the plants are open to begin doing longer lasting patches on the most troublesome potholes on our streets," said Blake MacIntosh, Manager of Roads and Fleet, in a statement.
The city said it should be calling for quotes in March.
On average, the city produces 5,000 tonnes of asphalt millings during the yearly paving work and about 1,500 tonnes of asphalt from an average 200 utility road cuts annually.
"With the use of an asphalt recycler, new aggregate does not have to be mined and quarried, new asphaltic oils don't need to be refined, transport requirements of raw materials are reduced, and GHG emissions are limited," said MacIntosh. "The only additional resources required are the fuel needs of the asphalt recycler, equipment to fill the hopper and to transport and place the recycled asphalt. It is also possible to recycle the same section of asphalt numerous times."
The equipment costs as well as the costs of necessary upgrades to the 18th Avenue public works yard were included in the capital budget. This year's road rehabilitation fund is $7million, the same as last year.
-with files from Charelle Evelyn
Potholes by the numbers
- 3506 potholes repaired between Jan. 1 to Feb. 17, 2015
- 1267 potholes repaired between Jan. 1 to Feb. 17, 2016
- 63 per cent reduction in numbers this year vs. last year
- $7 million - the city's road rehabilitation fund in 2016 (same as 2015)
