By Andrea McCann
Washington Times-Herald
WASHINGTON — At the Daviess County Commissioners meeting Monday night, County Highway Superintendent Larry McLin recommended the board accept a bid from Rejuvtec to use “Reclamite” to rejuvenate 19 miles of the county’s asphalt roads, and the board accepted his recommendation. Reclamite is poured onto the surface of degraded asphalt roads, allowed to soak in, then the road is sanded, McLin said. He explained that one lane would be done at a time so roads won’t have to be closed, and Rejuvtec will handle traffic control as part of the contract. The company claims the product will extend the life of asphalt up to seven years. “We expect it to delay chip and seal by three to seven years,” McLin said. “Obviously, if it lasts seven years, it’s a good savings.” McLin said it costs $70,000 per mile to repave existing blacktopped road. The Rejuvtec bid is for $1 per square yard, or $200,000, for the 19-mile project. The cost is already built into this year’s budget. “We’ve noticed roads paved in ’04, ’05 and ’06 are grainy looking, like they’re oxidized,” he said. “We’re actually losing some aggregate out of it. The asphalt isn’t gluing it together anymore. I’m into pavement preservation, not filling potholes.” McLin said his foreman went to Jasper to check out roads there that had been treated with Reclamite before making the decision to recommend its use in Daviess County. Rejuvtec has been in business since the 1970s, he said. In other county highway news, McLin said the department is currently chipping and sealing about 30 miles of road. He hoped they’d begin some blacktopping in about a week and a half. In other business Alley in Raglesville John Knepp of Raglesville asked the commissioners about closing an alley on his property. Knepp said he owns three lots on a corner, and the alley runs between his house and garage. “As far as I know, it’s never been used,” he said, adding that the same person owns all the lots behind his and has other access. Attorney Jeff Hayes advised Knepp to contact an attorney to prepare a “notice to vacate” and to notify neighbors and utilities to prevent any future problems. Once these steps have been taken, he can then present the information to the commissioners. DCEDF Daviess County Economic Development Foundation Director Ron Arnold presented the commissioners with the final copy of a feasibility study that looks at providing an alternate access at the east end of Business 50 for future development. It also documents the existing condition of the entire Business 50 corridor. Arnold said no commitment has been made, and all funding options are being explored. Tech Park Arnold also reported that the WestGate @ Crane Authority and Southern Indiana Development Commission received a $6.6 million federal Economic Development Administration grant to help build the WestGate Academy Conference Centre at the WestGate @ Crane Technology Park. The facility will include a business incubator and conference and training space to serve tech-based start-up companies. A contract for a new road at the tech park was approved by the commissioners. The total cost for the project is $130,000, with $65,000 coming from EDIT funds and $65,000 from the TIF fund established for the tech park. It was reported that the Redevelopment Commission authorized the use of the TIF fund and approved the contract.
