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May 14, 2008 7:15 pm US/Eastern
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High Oil Prices = Recycled Asphalt In White Plains
Westchester City Takes Unique Approach To Cutting Costs
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (CBS) ―
You've seen the sky-high prices at the gas pump, but there is another hidden cost of driving that is hitting commuters.
CBS 2 HD has learned just how much high oil prices are impacting our roads.
It's a hot commodity – and not just because it's served up at 300 degrees. The price of asphalt has gone sky-high, up 100 percent since 2004.
"There's quite a dramatic change in the last four years and we're feeling that," said White Plains Public Works Commissioner Bud Nicoletti.
Nicoletti says asphalt is made from petroleum. Record high oil prices make it increasingly costly to buy the black stuff needed by the ton to fill potholes and pave roads.
With the price of asphalt jumping every month, one Rockland County highway official says it has put a pothole in his budget.
"We may postpone some of our sidewalk construction or a drainage project to be able to stick with our road surface maintenance program," said Orangetown Highway Superintendent Jim Dean.
White Plains is getting creative. The city recycles old asphalt.
When it tears up or digs a hole in a road, asphalt bits and pieces are put into a "hotbox." Then, overnight, the old asphalt reconstitutes into new.
"We're doing that as a matter of survival, almost," Nicoletti said. "We don't throw away anything and we try to save every little piece of asphalt, recycle it, and use it for pothole and road repairs."
White Plains is treating every shovelful like black gold.
Highway officials say buying diesel fuel to run their trucks is also driving a hole in their budget. The cost of diesel is up about 50 percent in the last year.
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