Paving getting greener

The county and state are successfully experimenting with paving roads in a greener way.

Both the state Department of Transportation and the Jefferson County Highway Department have started using a new warm-mix asphalt that is better for the environment and for the laborers working with the mixture.

The new asphalt does not require as much energy to produce as the traditional hot-mix asphalt, and county Highway Superintendent James L. Lawrence Jr. said it is a product the county plans to continue to use. The bottom layer of County Route 202 was paved with the warm mix, and Mr. Lawrence said it went down with ease and there have been no problems since the road opened in October.

"We didn't know how it would work out and I don't know all the ins and outs, but we are going to try it here again on County Route 30," Mr. Lawrence said. "We're comfortable enough with the mixture to use it again. It's environmentally friendly for the guys that are putting it down and I think it is definitely the way of the future."

The warm-mix asphalt requires the use of less fuel to heat the mix to a lower temperature needed for production. Hot-mix asphalt must be heated to about 325 degrees, but the warm mix can range from 50 to 100 degrees less, Mr. Lawrence said.

Fewer harmful emissions are released as the mix is being worked with, creating a safer environment for workers as well as people near the work zone.

"You don't have the exhaust fumes coming from the hot mix," Mr. Lawrence said.

The state Department of Transportation is evaluating a one-mile test strip where it used the warm-mix asphalt.

"We did about one mile on Route 12 near Perch River," said Michael R. Flick, spokesman for DOT Region 7. "We did one lane with the warm mix and one lane with the hot mix and now we are comparing the test results. Before we decide if we want to use it in the future, we want to make sure it performs at least as well as the hot mix."