Asphalt is one of the most popular choices for roads, parking lots, tunnels, dams, playgrounds, and various other structures. It’s durable, making it a cost-effective solution.
In addition, modern variants are permeable, allowing water to soak through. This reduces the likelihood of flooding and encourages water to return to underground water flows.
Application of Asphalt on Our Roads
In West New York, as in most towns and cities across the country, the roads are made with between six and eight inches of concrete. This is the base; it’s essential for stability and strength. The asphalt layer goes on top of the concrete and is four to six inches deep.
Why There’s Always Roadworks
If you were to put all the streets together in the five boroughs of New York, it would be a staggering 3,779 miles long. That’s enough to go from New York to Los Angeles and back! That figure doesn’t include the 13 different parking lots in West New York or the rest of New York.
In short, it’s a lot of concrete and asphalt. However, a huge amount of traffic uses these roads daily.
The weight of all these vehicles, combined with the weather, particularly when the roads freeze and then thaw continuously, places a huge strain on the asphalt.
That’s not the only problem. New York is unlike any other local government, it has no control over the vast subterranean tunnels. That means, various companies, such as communications, electricity, and gas, are free to cut into the roads daily.
Unfortunately, these companies don’t always effect proper repairs. The repairs fall to the local government.
The first problem, as described above, is how much stress the roads are under. The second, perhaps bigger issue, is the coordination it takes to repair these streets while maintaining access for drivers and pedestrians.
Handling Repairs
It doesn’t matter whether you’re looking for an asphalt paving contractor in Lompoc, California, or one in west New York. The state must approve every contractor. That means, there are a limited number of contractors available and, to make matters worse, there are limited funds available. After all, Governor Hochul has just launched a $35 million initiative to combat domestic violence. It’s a worthwhile cause, but money is finite, and road repairs have to be prioritized.
That, along with the rising cost of asphalt, is why road repairs are always needed.
Why The Cost of Asphalt Is Rising
New York is only one state in the US, every state needs to keep up with road repairs. The greater the demand for asphalt the higher the price will be. That’s simply the law of supply and demand.
Asphalt is made from a variety of aggregates and is bound together with bitumen. It’s important to note that bitumen is made from petroleum. If the price of petroleum rises, so does the cost of producing asphalt.
Of course, in recent years there has been a significant increase in the price of petroleum-based products. As of October 2024, the price per ton of bitumen in the US is $450. In January 2020 it was just $290 per ton.
There are several reasons for this increase:
Raw Materials Cost More
Prices of raw materials constantly fluctuate. However, when the price of an essential ingredient, such as bitumen, nearly doubles in four years, it’s certain to affect the price of asphalt.
The local authority has limited funds, these aren’t multiplying at the same rate as the price of raw materials. In other words, the budget simply won’t stretch to completing all the road repairs. That’s why there are always some repairs that need to be done.
Transportation Costs
It’s not just the raw materials that are increasing in value. The increased cost of fuel means that delivering the raw materials to the asphalt plant, and the asphalt to the road, has got considerably more expensive.
Labor Costs
On top of this, you need skilled labor to lay asphalt properly. It’s a significant part of the cost and, as skilled labor becomes harder to find, the cost of recruiting it is increasing.
Environmental Concerns
The environment has become increasingly important to many individuals. It’s one of the reasons that WNY recently launched the Chautauqua Lake ecosystem study.
Of course, funding environmental issues means less funds available for other projects.
Summing Up
That’s the bottom line. The local authority budget isn’t increasing in line with the cost of making and installing asphalt. The additional cost of road repairs means the local council is constantly looking at which repairs are the higher priority.
Naturally, road repairs aren’t the only industry with rising costs. The additional strain on local authority finances means it’s not just road repairs that are being left undone.
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