The Marshall County Commissioners voted unanimously to sign a letter of intent to purchase an asphalt zipper in the amount of $149,470 out of the rainy day fund.
Interim Highway Superintendent Jason Peters presented the paperwork to the three board members Monday morning. Peters said the equipment could be shipped on June 20 with arrival on June 24. A demonstration on how to use the machine would be given by the manufacturer on June 25.
In an earlier discussion, the commissioners were working to get an asphalt zipper purchased to help improve the roads in the northern part of the county. They didn’t want to wait as another winter like the one we had this season could deteriorate the roads even more and increase the amount of work needed to repair the roads.
Peters said the asphalt zipper’s main purpose is to rejuvenate roads. This machine will grind up the existing road and re-purpose it to make a smoother, longer lasting road. Calcium chloride will be applied to make the road application bond quicker so the traffic flow will not be interrupted for a long period of time.
