https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
    • Latest videos
    • Product Guides
  • Resources & Events
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
    • Latest videos
    • Product Guides
  • Resources/Events
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers/eBooks
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
  • Magazine
acc.com

Public Works & Utilities


Article

Indiana asphalt mix-up could cost taxpayers $71 million

Indiana asphalt mix-up could cost taxpayers $71 million

A mix-up on asphalt materials for more than 200 road projects in Indiana could mean a loss of more than $71 million for taxpayers and limit future highway funding for the state, an Indiana legislator said this week.
  • Written by Stephanie Toone
  • 23rd September 2015

A mix-up on asphalt materials for more than 200 road projects in Indiana could mean a loss of more than $71 million for taxpayers and limit future highway funding for the state, an Indiana legislator said this week.

Indiana Department of Transportation officials are investigating 188 roads, which were repaved by 44 different contractors, that appear to have faulty asphalt mix, INDOT officials told the Indianapolis Star. State officials recently tested samples of $71 million in pavement projects at state laboratories. The testing uncovered that the asphalt mix appears to lack the sticky petroleum binder that holds asphalt together, which could mean the roadways will become cracked and corroded sooner than expected.

Testing on the roads continue, so no definitive conclusion has been made on the cause and whether contractors or INDOT is to blame.

"Our concern is did (contractors) include enough binder to make the pavement perform as it was intended," Robert Tally, INDOT deputy commissioner for materials and construction management, told the newspaper.

INDOT instructed contractors to use recycled asphalt, but recycled materials should not have caused deterioration of the asphalt sooner, Robert Tally, INDOT deputy commissioner for materials and construction management, told the Star.

"The recycled aspect of this was really born out of not taking material off of an existing road and disposing of it in a landfill," Tally said, adding that asphalt makers calculate the amounts of binder to add in the mix designs. "We are concerned that they have not done that sufficiently and accurately. Our perspective is that the mix design – the recipe – is their responsibility."

According to Indiana Public Media, legislators are already considering the costs that will go into possibly re-paving the hundreds of roads that could have been affected by the error. Decisions on funding the future road projects could also interfere with bipartisan consensus, Ed Soliday (R-Valparaiso), chairman of the House Roads and Transportation committee, told Indiana Public Media. 

With a tight state budget, legislators will likely have to seek the public’s vote to approve further funding of the road projects, Soliday said. Taxpayers are already facing the state's need for $1 billion to maintain the current infrastructure, Soliday told the Indianalopis Star.

“If people don’t have confidence that money we spend on road funding is being spent well, then they won’t support additional funding, and I don’t blame them,” he said. “You keep digging to find out which it is. We are going to need a clear explanation for the public to move forward.”

To get connected and stay up-to-date with similar content from American City & County:
Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter
Watch us on Youtube

Tags: Administration Economy News Public Works & Utilities Article

Most Recent


  • sustainability
    With adequate data, a local government’s sustainability goals are within reach
    To reach ambitious green environmental goals, cities and counties need good data, says Jennifer Robinson, global government strategic advisor at analytics provider SAS. “Sustainability requires comprehensive knowledge of what has happened, what is happening, and what may happen. Collecting data and sharing it between departments and with other organizations is one of the key elements […]
  • worker shortage
    Overcoming worker shortages in public sector amidst growing demand
    While the private sector has more than made up the jobs it lost immediately after the advent of the pandemic, the public sector is still struggling. Since February 2020, the private sector recovered all its job losses, and filled nearly 900,000 new jobs, while the public sector is still at a net loss of 650,000 […]
  • Housing
    Report: Renters living at or below the poverty line face a 'severe shortage of housing'
    When real estate prices began increasing at a historic rate a few years ago, contractors and other stakeholders moved quickly to increase housing availability—and they did, but only for those who could afford it. The number of available affordable housing units for those living at or below the poverty line, meanwhile, has decreased, according to […]
  • cyber
    Report: Technology is encouraging unprecedented collaboration in local government organizations
    From the way people communicate to daily work norms, technology and other drivers are encouraging unprecedented collaboration in local governments, disintegrating walls that have traditionally kept organizations siloed. A new report from Deloitte predicts a number of trends within government centered around this shift. “This year, we have one overarching theme to the trends, which is […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • NLC releases State of Cities 2021 report
  • How local governments can get ahead of the infrastructure wave: Strategies to mitigate risk
  • Prioritizing rapid restore leads to stronger ransomware attack recovery
  • Ultrafast electric vehicle charging will propel local governments into the future

White papers


Digital Government Service Delivery – A Guide for Buyers

23rd February 2023

Modernizing government services for today’s resident expectations

24th January 2023

Preparing Your Community Now for the Next Generation of Older Adults

18th October 2022
view all

Webinars


Future-proof Your State and Local Government Finance: 5 Key Trends for 2023

6th February 2023

How To: Evaluate Digital Government Service Delivery Technologies

23rd January 2023

Using Technology to Enhance Communications

29th November 2022
view all

PODCAST


Young Leaders Episode 4 – Cyril Jefferson – City Councilman, High Point, North Carolina

13th October 2020

Young Leaders Episode 3 – Shannon Hardin – City Council President, Columbus, Ohio

27th July 2020

Young Leaders Episode 2 – Christian Williams – Development Services Planner, Goodyear, Ariz.

1st July 2020
view all

GALLERIES


Gallery: America’s top 10 bicycle-friendly cities

20th March 2023

Gallery: Top 10 hardest working American cities

8th March 2023

Gallery: Top 10 least expensive American metro areas

24th February 2023
view all

Twitter


AmerCityCounty

IWCE 2023: Enhanced bandwidth and cybersecurity in the face of natural disasters dlvr.it/SldY7W

28th March 2023
AmerCityCounty

With adequate data, a local government’s sustainability goals are within reach dlvr.it/SldTc9

28th March 2023
AmerCityCounty

Overcoming worker shortages in public sector amidst growing demand dlvr.it/SlYssG

27th March 2023
AmerCityCounty

Report: Renters living at or below the poverty line face a ‘severe shortage of housing’ dlvr.it/SlR6rb

24th March 2023
AmerCityCounty

Report: Technology is encouraging unprecedented collaboration in local government organizations dlvr.it/SlNYqx

23rd March 2023
AmerCityCounty

Metal buildings can be a lifesaver for local governments needing to expand dlvr.it/SlMCV1

23rd March 2023
AmerCityCounty

Transportation department to invest $94M into projects promoting innovation, safety dlvr.it/SlKRf7

22nd March 2023
AmerCityCounty

How state and local CIOs can prioritize security, cloud and legacy systems dlvr.it/SlK7H1

22nd March 2023

Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.