As inflation drives the cost of living up, so does the material being used to improve Essex County roads.
A report on roadwork material prices was presented to Essex County Council on Wednesday night. Asphalt is the driving force behind price increases. Council had approved three projects in the 2022 budget.
Essex County Director of Infrastructure Services Allan Botham told WindsorNewsToday.ca that people can blame the rising cost of oil for more expensive asphalt.
"Asphalt is made up of sand and stone and asphalt cement, but the asphalt cement itself is a petroleum product, so it's affected by the price of oil," said Botham. "So as the price of oil goes up, the price of the asphalt pavement goes up."
According to the report, most pricing is locked into the total tender issued, except for asphalt cement. So far, the cost of three projects approved for this year is still in the budgeted figure, but there is a possibility that it could change with the rising cost of asphalt cement.
"At the time tenders closed, the asphalt cement (AC) cost was $915.50 per tonne," read the report. "It is expected that the AC price at the time of paving will be approximately $1,300 per tonne."
Botham said the expected seasonal drop in AC prices also did not materialize as it usually did.
"The trend is that asphalt prices would be low through the winter months, and then as the summer months come in, the price starts to rise, and then you see maximum pricing in July and August," said Botham. "It goes up and down. The long-term trend is rising."
The report, however, indicated that $300,000 in paving costs could be cut from two projects to counter inflation. These are a portion of County Road 27 north of County Road 8 and a section of County Road 23 from Gosfield Townline to County Road 8. The projects were added to this year's schedule after being pencilled in for future seasons. If County Council were to approve the cut, the two projects would revert to their previously-scheduled positions.