Prince George having its own asphalt plant isn't likely in the near future, according to the head of the city's paving program.
Around this time last year, there was discussion at City Hall about operating a small asphalt plant to combat the city's perennial pothole problem.
But Mick Jones, city supervisor of street operations, said the expense of that start up would likely mean such a plan is a long way away.
"I don't know if it got to the point where it was a serious discussion," Jones said. "I think it sounds good and all that, but I think there are a lot more concerns that need to be hammered out before we could go there."
If city council and senior administration were to go down that route, Jones explained there are a few costs to be considered.
He pointed to Columbia Bitulithic's new plant in Coquitlam, which he said cost more than $3 million. The City of Prince George awarded Columbia Bitulithic the 2012 paving contract at the end of April. The company is responsible for supplying all equipment, labour and materials for the project.
"And then on top of that, just because you have an asphalt plant, doesn't mean asphalt is free. There's still the cost of the aggregate, the processing of the aggregate and the oil," Jones said. "It would definitely, significantly reduce the cost, but there's still a cost associated with it as well as the initial capital to purchase the plant... But that's not a decision that's up to me."
But with paving season typically running June through August, Jones said they're a little ahead of the game.
"We have no concerns about getting our capital paving program completed in a year," he said. "So we just try to balance it in terms of time to make sure we're not getting ahead of ourselves. We don't want to get too many roads ripped up and then they're not but pack together in a timely fashion."
The city launched its rehabilitation work on Tuesday, which coincided with the arrival of an asphalt milling machine that grinds off up to five cm (two inches) of the road surface so new asphalt can be laid down.
This procedure, called mill and fill, is the most common approach to roads that have a curb and gutter - such as 15th Avenue and Domano and Ospika Boulevards. Other roads, like PG Pulp Mill Road, will have five cm of the distressed asphalt removed and 10 cm (four inches) of new asphalt laid on.
As there isn't a surplus of milling machines in the province, the contractor returns every couple of weeks, completing a few local projects at a time.
Jones said they don't want to mill every road while the machine is in town at once, because it could cause more problems in the long run.
"Some of the roads are constructed so there's enough asphalt there to withstand the traffic and everything else. But in some cases, it will blow through. And if we blow through
the asphalt and end up getting into the gravel, if we hit bad weather and traffic, it makes for a nightmare. We want to get them closed up as fast as we can before we open up too much," Jones said.