Crews patching potholes in Edmonton this spring will be testing a new material the city hopes will last through wet spring road conditions, city officials announced Wednesday.
Potholes are traditionally filled with what’s known as cold mix this time of year, but the material can weaken when it gets wet, meaning crews sometimes have to go back and patch holes a second time.
This new material works well with water and bonds better with roads, meaning potholes will stay filled. It also means crews can work on potholes even during wet weather.
“What this allows us to do is if the potholes stay filled, then we’re able to get on to filling the other holes that may take a little bit longer to fill otherwise,” said Al Cepas, pavement management engineer with the City of Edmonton.
The material, which Cepas said is a proprietary secret, was developed in Florida.
Edmonton is one of the first cities to try it out. The city of Yellowknife has already been using it exclusively to patch its potholes, Cepas said.
The city mixed up the additive with its usual asphalt material and tried it out for the first time last fall.
“We’re seeing some pretty good success with it,” Cepas said. “We’re hoping to see that this material will replace the old cold mix we’ve been using for forever and a decade.”
The city fills about 400,000 potholes a year.
The new additive is about 35 per cent more expensive and will cost the city between $30,000 and $40,000 extra every year but is expected to last much longer.
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