Whitfield County offering free ground-up asphalt to residents

Published 5:52 pm Monday, May 8, 2017

How would you like to get a few loads of gravel for your driveway or parking lot — for free?

In February, Whitfield County Public Works (WCPW) began using a new machine that grinds off the top layer of old asphalt on roads and sends the resulting scrap materials up a conveyor belt and into dump trucks waiting below. The byproduct of the milling process — known appropriately enough as “millings” — is basically ground-up asphalt, which can be repurposed for use on driveways, roads and parking lots.

WCPW expects to generate about 500 loads of millings every year as its seven-foot-wide machine — fitted with about 200 sharp metal teeth on a huge spinning roller underneath — grinds off the top layer of an anticipated 10-12 miles of road each year. This material has to be removed from the job site. Typically, before full width milling began, the paving crew purchased additional asphalt to “level the ruts” in the road prior to paving.

Director DeWayne Hunt says his department will keep some loads for county projects, which will reduce the department’s rock budget, but they will not be able to use all of the millings generated. That’s why he says the remaining loads of millings will be available to Whitfield County residents at no charge. His department will work with citizens to dispose of the millings as close to the project site as possible.

“Initially we will be focused on the east side of the county, then north, then the west side,” he said. “That is how our 2017 paving projects are scheduled. We hope that citizens will participate in this program and assist the public works department with the extra millings.”

That’s why Hunt has developed a plan to allow residents to receive the millings at no charge. It’s a win-win for public works and residents, too.

1. Citizen will need to fill out a “Right of Entry Permit” which gives WCPW permission to enter their property, and hold harmless the county for any damages that might occur from the heavy trucks.

2. A representative from WCPW will inspect the site, to ensure that trucks can enter and exit safely. Not all sites will be approved.

3. If a site is approved, it will be on file at the public works office and will be considered for use when projects occur in that area of the county. WCPW will contact the nearest approved property owners to ensure acceptance. The department will not take orders from outside the project area and will not consider a site before it is approved.

“Please keep in mind that it may be months or years before an approved site receives millings. Also keep in mind that we will not mill every road in the county. The public works department will contact the nearest approved locations first and work our way out from the project site,” Hunt said.

When public works delivers the millings, residents will then be responsible for spreading the millings themselves or hire a private contractor to do the work.

“Residents will also have the option of hiring a private trucking company to deliver the millings,” Hunt said, which saves the county money, provides additional trucks at no cost to the county and would also speed up production.

With this scenario the public works milling crew would load millings into a commercially licensed, tandem dump truck, to be delivered by the contractor to a Whitfield County resident. Whitfield County will not charge the private truck for the millings. Any contracted work will be between the trucking contractor and the Whitfield County resident. The contractor will be required to furnish the address of the deliveries to the public works department.

While the milling machine cost $575,000, Hunt says it will pay for itself. The county gets a credit of $2 per square yard for milling through the state’s Local Maintenance Improvement Grant (LMIG); this credit is expected to be valued at $350,000 this year and $200,000 each year after that. This credit decreases cash outlay from the General Fund budget by the same amount.

“Our machine should give the county 10-15 years of reliable service, but more importantly, it makes our department more efficient and helps save tax dollars,” Hunt said.

By Mitch Talley

Whitfield County Director of Communications