LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - The city of Lincoln is attempting to extend the life of several hundred blocks of residential streets by trying two new products to help asphalt last longer.
The city will apply GSB-88 and Reclamite to a total of about 275 blocks of asphalt pavement this summer, the Lincoln Journal Star (https://bit.ly/2rAaPyb ) reported.
City engineer Erika Nunes said asphalt reacts with the sun, drying out and becoming brittle within its first five years. Cracks then form and pieces chip out.
GSB-88 will be applied to streets that are about five years old. The primary ingredient in that product is a natural ore called Gilsonite, which Nunes said acts like a natural asphalt when melted. She said the Gilsonite will fill the cracks in the asphalt and help seal it so that water can’t get in.
Nunes said petroleum-based Reclamite can be applied every five years as long as the concrete foundation remains solid. Reclamite absorbs into existing asphalt and seals up any places where water could accumulate.
The projects are expected to cost Lincoln about $350,000, which will help protect the more than $7 million investment in residential road rehabilitation made over the past five years.
“We just don’t have enough funding to get to all the neighborhoods we need to,” Nunes said.
She said that city staff will prove educational material to residents with streets targeted by the projects. Information has already been sent to people living in the areas that will be treated with GSB-88.
___
Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, https://www.journalstar.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.