Pilot project will test pavement recycling

A new way to fix cracks on city streets could save the city thousands of dollars -- and be environmentally friendly.

City Engineer Greg Wolford explained at the open hearing Monday night for the one and six year street plan, a pilot program that will be used on Elizabeth Lane to fix fractures on the street.

The method, already used on state highways and county roads, uses a reclamation machine that grinds up the existing pavement, adds emulsified asphalt and other binding agents depending on the surface, then rolls the solidified product back down on the road.

The city has spent "tens of thousands of dollars" on repairing cracks on streets but nothing has been a permanent fix so far, Wolford said. And tearing up a street and repaving it is too expensive to do on a constant basis.

This method is less costly and intrusive,he said, as no new asphalt has to be brought in and old surfacing does not have to be hauled out.

This reclamation method will cost $85,000 compared to $240,000 it would cost to resurface Elizabeth Lane, Wolford said. City staff will evaluate for the next two years how the method holds up in extreme cold or heat, before using it on other city streets.

And the city has plenty of areas it could be used on, Wolford said, such as the Hospital Heights Addition,where Apollo and Gemini Streets are located, the area east of Memorial Park Cemetery and the "reservation" portion of northern McCook.

Wolford also reviewed street repair projects slated for this year. This includes storm sewer repair on M Street in Bolles Canyon and repairing downtown city parking lots, both projects under contract to be done by April 30. Other improvements will be re-surfacing J Street from Norris Avenue to West 10th, including installing left hand turning lanes on West Fifth and J; resurfacing I, K and L Street and constructing a sidewalk along U.S. Highway 6-34 to Walmart.