It's now preservation over maintenance when it comes to repairing county roads. That's because of funding, according to Allen County Engineer Brion Rhodes.
The cost to chip and seal is much less than actual paving. The process is fairly quick, as liquid asphalt is poured onto the roadway, then a chipper lays stone on top of the asphalt. Then comes the rubber-wheeled rollers that press the stone into the asphalt, extending the life of the road.
"It's really being proactive and not reactive, and that is this pavement out here is 10 years old and we know it is deteriorating, and chip seal will help preserve that pavement and extend its life by about five to seven years but only about one-fifth the cost," explained Rhodes.
The county is spending around 2-million dollars on repairs for about 100 miles of roads this year. With just over 1,300 miles of roads they are responsible for, Rhodes says it would take another 3-million dollars a year to maintain what they have. He says the lack of state and federal funding just won't allow that.
"Our local county commissioners have done their part and helped us out with our permissive license plate fees but we really need is a gas tax increase or a license plate fee increase from the state," added Rhodes.
The increase in the local permissive tax will take effect in January.
