City Using New Tool to Repair Streets

This winter snow and ice will bring with it a lot of damage, especially to our roadways.

Zanesville Mayor, Jeff Tilton, said we may not see as many potholes come spring, due to new crack-sealer being used to repair city streets. Instead of repaving with asphalt, city workers are sealing the cracks with a filling that’s proven to extend the life of the street by three to five years.

“Because asphalt is kind of porous if you get water down in it, and with all of the problems we’ve had with potholes in the past, this is a way that we’re trying to stop the potholes and extend the life of our asphalt,” Tilton said.

Crack-sealer is a hot, rubber and asphalt material that isn’t used to resurface an entire street, only to fill the cracks. Tilton said not only will the crack-sealer protect our streets, it will also save the city money long-term.

“With a crack-sealer we can crack-seal a mile of road for about $5,000, and it costs us about $50,000 to asphalt a mile of road, so it’s a savings to us, and also a way we can extend the life of our roads,” Tilton said.

City workers took to Northpointe Drive Wednesday to begin sealing. Tilton said there are about 10 more city streets in need of restoration.