Tom Warne Report, 1 July 2011
Bennington Banner – June 28, 2011
BENNINGTON, Vermont – Local officials have proposed several city roads be reclaimed as a cost-effective way to maintain better road surfaces. Town Manager Stuart A. Hurd and Highway Superintendent R.J. Joly are looking at three roads to be reclaimed, and the board approved plans to test the process on portions of the roads.
Joly said the town should repave about 10 miles each year, but can only afford to do 3 miles a year because of the cost. The reclaiming process involves grinding up the pavement with gravel underneath, grading it into a flat surface and then treating it with liquid calcium chloride to minimize dust.
The roads would have to go through the reclaiming process before being repaved because they are in such poor condition, Joly said. If the gravel surface fails then the majority of the cost would already be completed and pavement could be redone.
“Our goal here is not to turn these roads into worse roads than they are now. I think the goal is to create a smooth surface on a road that doesn’t have a smooth surface and hope that that holds at least a year so we can measure how well the system works and perhaps look at alternatives to blacktopping that might create a more stable long-term surface,” Hurd said.