Higher oil prices slowing road work in Utah County

PROVO — The higher price for crude oil means a higher cost for asphalt and, in Utah County, that means less road building.

Clyde Naylor, county public works director, said the price increase for asphalt has hit the county "quite drastically."

The county puts out one request for bids for all repaving projects each year, and the lowest bid this year was about 20 percent more than last year.

"It means we just do less," he said.

Paving costs are always higher in the summer because road crews are in demand, and so are materials, but this year it's worse than usual, Naylor said.

"It hurts the county's budget," said County Commissioner Jerry Grover. "We do a significant amount of roadwork every year."

The county averages between 50 and 60 miles of chip seal work on roads each year, which requires asphalt, he said.

Naylor warned commissioners before they put out a request for bids that prices would be higher this year, Grover said. It's not as high as the increase in gas the county has seen, though, because asphalt isn't 100 percent oil.

The Utah Department of Transportation is feeling the paving price pain, too.

"We've seen a dramatic increase over the last few months," said Jim McMinimee, UDOT director of project development.

The department purchased asphalt in the second quarter this year for $1.13 million more than they would have spent in the first quarter for the same quantity, he said.

UDOT tracks key indicators, including the price of asphalt mix, to estimate costs, McMinimee said. Its cost index for asphalt was 50 percent above the last quarter of 2004 about 1 1/2 months ago, and since then has steadily risen. It's now 78 percent more than the last quarter of 2004.

The dramatic price increase can be partly attributed to the time of year and demand for materials, he said. But it's higher than he's seen during his four years at the department.