Peak Oil Task Force Report - City of Bloomington - State of Indiana

The City has been adversely affected by
this marked upswing in asphalt prices. In
2006 the City paid $27.90/ton; in 2007,
$33.65/ton; in 2008, $32.15/ton; and in
2009, $48.25/ton. 122 In 2008, the Street
Division used 20,000 tons of asphalt.
Bloomington has one asphalt plant.
The Street Division has worked to extend
the life of existing roads and mitigate the need for repaving by using an asphalt compound
sealant. The sealant extends the life of the road by 3‐5 years.
VULNERABILITY
While the Street Division has made impressive efforts to reduce its consumption of asphalt
by recycling the asphalt on projects where the City mills existing road, the Division is
nevertheless very exposed to volatile and increasing asphalt prices.
MITIGATION GOALS & STRATEGIES
SHORT TERM (1­5 Years)
1. Explore mixes that require less energy to produce, can use a greater
percentage of recycled asphalt and are longer lived.
2. Explore the use of bioasphalt made from bitumen and other non­petroleum
based paving materials such as Road Oyl, a bio­based binder that is an
emulsion of half water and half pine resin and pitch. 123
3. Explore the use of brick or stone pavement, where appropriate.
4. Instead of a paving plan whereby every inch of every street is repaved within
10, 15, or 20 years, prioritize major arterials and tend to others on an “as
needed” basis. As private automobile traffic dissipates, it is unlikely that such
an aggressive repaving plan will be necessary.
122 Asphalt is bid out at the beginning of the year for that year’s paving season.
123 http://www.gtkp.com/uploads/public/documents/Knowledge/Eco‐road%20Technologies%20Review‐
a.pdf; http://www.sspco.org/naturalpavexl/naturalpave_OV.html
Report of the Bloomington Peak Oil Task Force
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