Rock to Road

News Roads & Paving
Skyrocketing prices have asphalt and paving costs sizzling hot

July 14, 2022  By  Don Horne


Paving companies are feeling the pinch of astronomical diesel and asphalt prices, and English’s Paving – a Paradise-based company owned by Peter and Kim English – is certainly one of them.

The most critical ingredients in road building and driveway paving are petroleum-based products, so with oil consistently trading above US $100 per barrel in recent months, it’s not surprising that people like English have been hit hard by the trickle-down effects.

Last year – according to CBC News – he was paying about $95 for a tonne of hot mix asphalt, and as low as 84 cents for a litre of diesel to fuel his fleet of trucks and other heavy equipment.

Now he’s paying $150 for his asphalt, and as high as $2.64 for a litre of diesel at one point.

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And those exorbitant prices are being felt during the tendering process for government infrastructure projects.

In a statement to CBC News, a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation and Works said some bids on road and bridge construction were 25 per cent higher than pre-tender estimates because of higher oil and steel costs.

(CBC News)


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