Asphalt plants busy as pothole repair ramps up
Behind the scenes, the effort to repair the region’s damaged roads begins at asphalt plants like Rason Materials in Melville, where raw materials are quickly transformed into the blacktop used across Long Island.
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Long Island drivers are beginning to see a sign that spring is coming: road crews patching potholes one shovel at a time.
A crew was recently spotted filling holes along Route 110 in East Farmingdale, offering a welcome sight for motorists who have endured months of rough roads after a harsh winter.
“It’s good to see. It really is,” said Plainview resident Steve Oliveri as he watched the work being done. “I hope you see more of them.”
Behind the scenes, the effort to repair the region’s damaged roads begins at asphalt plants like Rason Materials in Melville, where raw materials are quickly transformed into the blacktop used across Long Island.
James Haney, president of Rason Materials, showed how the process works.
Stone fragments are first fed into a shaker to remove large clumps or debris. The material is then heated and dried in a massive rotating drum before being mixed with a petroleum-based binder. Within about eight minutes, the mixture becomes smooth asphalt ready for use on roadways.
On Friday, the facility was producing about 300 tons of asphalt every hour.
This year, Haney expects demand to be particularly high.
“It will definitely be a busier-than-normal pothole season,” Haney said. “Just because of how bad the weather was. The weather affects all the potholes.”
Trucks lined up to collect fresh asphalt, including vehicles from the Town of Hempstead and Suffolk County. The material will be used for pothole repairs across the region.
And the workload is only expected to increase. Haney said production will rise even more when the full road repaving season begins next month.
