PROVO — A predicted spike in asphalt costs has Utah County officials worried that next year's potholes might be difficult to cover, never mind new roads that are planned for construction.

The Utah County Commission approved Tuesday a purchase of 6,000 tons of asphalt with a price tag of about $250,000 to repair damages to county roads. But if prices keep rising they way they have — this year's cost was 36 percent more than last year's — the county might have to reconsider covering as many holes next year.

According to Clyde Naylor, Utah County engineer, organizers of a recent asphalt convention in Salt Lake City raised an alarm that 20 percent less asphalt across the nation will be available next year.

Because of advances in oil-refining techniques, less residual oil — a key ingredient for asphalt — is being left over.

Add to that a projected 40 percent increase in cost for the diminished supply and suddenly the prospect of buying enough asphalt to maintain Utah County roads becomes staggering.

"What it means is we're going to have to be more creative about our maintenance efforts, and we'll probably have less opportunity to build new roads," Naylor said.

Of the 558 miles of road maintained by Utah County, 357 are asphalt.

One option available to the county is to cover potholes with recycled asphalt. The old asphalt gravel is ground up with fresh oil, then reapplied. Buying an excess amount of asphalt to save for coming years is not an option, Naylor said, because asphalt cannot be stored.

The county will receive its asphalt from two companies, Staker and Parson Co. and Geneva Rock, in time for the typical spring maintenance, Naylor said. County roads will be serviced into the summer.

As far as continuing to build new county roads, Naylor says he is not so sure how the county will pay for the projects.

Neither is County Commissioner Gary Anderson, who said he "reeled" Tuesday when he heard about the potential cost increase. But that doesn't mean the projects are impossible.

"The first thing someone says is, 'Raise taxes to cover it,' but we're not going to do that," Anderson said. "We've got to figure it out. We've got to do the projects, and if the cost goes up, we've got to figure it out. You can bet that we're going to work on that."

The fluctuating price of asphalt is not just discouraging to county officials, but county transportation planners also are grappling with the possible increase.