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Cities and towns often lack the equipment and manpower for long-term road repairs. This can limit control over timing, cost, and quality of road repairs. Regular surface repairs like a road patch or pothole repair are not too difficult. On the other hand, a road base stabilization project may be more than their budget or time can permit.
Many cities and towns now use an asphalt milling machine or road reclaimer for their own road repairs. A small asphalt milling machine is an initial investment. But certain in house road repairs have the potential to save road and street departments time and money.
Instead of an occasional road patch or pothole repair, road crews can do full road base stabilization using full depth reclamation. Here are some of the benefits of owning an asphalt milling machine or road reclaimer:
Low Road Repair Costs
Cities and towns that invest in a small asphalt milling machine find big long term budget savings. Patrick Zellner is the Street Maintenance Services Manager for the City of Renton, Washington (population 106,000). Zellner reports that the City of Renton does their road repairs in house with an asphalt milling machine.
The City of Renton used to saw cut asphalt surfaces for road repairs; now they use an asphalt milling machine. After pavement milling, they add water to the asphalt millings and compact the new base layer. This avoids the need for emulsions or other binding materials.
The asphalt millings bind with the larger rock, creating a stronger road base. No more surface road repairs for alligator cracking or potholes. The City of Renton stabilizes the road base itself, preventing future asphalt damage. By using recycled asphalt, the reclaimed asphalt pavement is stronger.
Another major concern for a road repair budget is cost overruns. Owning a small asphalt milling machine allows cities to stay within their road repair project budget. If they face unplanned issues, they can adjust their full depth reclamation or road repair project.
Control Over Project Timeline
Bad weather or material shortages lead to delays in road repair projects. This can lengthen an asphalt milling or road base stabilization project. This is inconvenient for residents and expensive for governments.
With their own asphalt milling machine, road repair crews own their own time. Road crews can use their own road reclaimer to complete a road stabilization project within their time frame.
Fewer Communication Breakdowns
Owning a small milling machine eliminates communication problems about project requirements and timelines. Communicate directly with your crew about your road surface milling or full depth reclamation project.
High Quality Road Repairs
Poor road base stabilization can lead to alligator cracking or potholes. High quality road repairs on existing pavement is crucial for the longevity and safety of the roads. By doing full-depth reclamation with an asphalt milling machine, road and street departments control the quality of their road repairs.
By using an asphalt milling machine for full depth reclamation, governments ensure high quality road repairs by choosing correct soil stabilizers. They also benefit from using recycled asphalt as road base. Using recycled materials increases road base stability and eliminates the need to purchase additional materials.
Governments often have specific regulations and standards for road construction and repairs. Using an asphalt milling machine for their road repairs allows them to ensure that they meet road project specifications.
Limited Contractor Availability
A small city or town may have a limited number of contractors available to take on road repair projects. This can lead to long waits to schedule a road repair project.
Doing some repairs in house with an asphalt milling machine can help with this problem. Road crews can plan anything from surface milling to full depth reclamation as soon as resources and time are available.
“Own” Your Road Today
By owning an asphalt milling machine, cities and towns can truly “own” their roads. Having the right equipment in house keeps road repair project costs low. Road and street departments control their own road project timeline and communicate directly with their workers.
They have the ability to do anything from a pothole patch to full depth reclamation and road base stabilization. An asphalt milling machine is an essential piece of road repair equipment for cities and towns.