The Starke County Highway Department is saving money by paving roads with the materials milled off of State Road 23 and U.S. 35 in those paving projects.
Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler told the county commissioners last week that they take the millings, put it through the county’s pug mill, adding oil, and then paving roads with the finished product.
Ritzler said that process costs $13,000 per mile versus $30,000 for regular cold patch.
“The pavement is superior to that because it has the hot mix in that,” said Ritzler. “Basically, U.S. 35 and State Road 23 were ground up and put on our roads which is a great thing for us. We probably have at least 10 more miles sitting there at the garage. We’ll do more of that in the second round of paving. If everything goes well with the weather and our equipment is fine, we’ll probably pave 30 miles this year.”
Additionally, Ritzler also told the commissioners that bridge decks will be sealed in September as the materials are on order for that process.
