The city may soon be in possession of a new tool for smoothing winter roads.
In August, the city tested an asphalt recycler - the Bagela BA10000 - as a potential means of generating hot-mix asphalt while asphalt plants are closed in the winter and early spring.
Staff first saw the equipment in April at a conference in Michigan.
Currently, the city uses a cold-mix material which is applied during cold and wet conditions, meaning it doesn't stay put when used to fill potholes.
The equipment uses existing asphalt millings or chunks to produce a hot material that binds better with the pavement and is expected to extend the life expectancy of repairs, reducing the number of return visits, said a staff report.
On average, the city produces 5,000 tonnes of asphalt millings during the yearly paving work and about 1,500 tonnes of asphalt from an average 200 utility road cuts annually.
According to a staff report, this would not eliminate the need for cold mix as it's still the go-to material for really poor conditions, but it would be reduced.
The recycler would also "secure a steady supply of hot-mix asphalt should commercial asphalt be temporarily unavailable," the report said.
The equipment costs $175,000 and the purchase price as well as the costs of necessary upgrades to the 18th Avenue public works yard has been included as a submission to next year's capital budget.
