The Athens County Engineer’s Office applied for and received a $400,000 grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC) in the fall of 2013.  This project involves “Motor Paving” CR 53 Lottridge Road from US 50 to CR 57 (2.2 miles) and CR 53 Bethany Ridge from US 50 to SR 144 (5.8 miles) for a total of 8.0 miles.  The estimated cost for the project is $660,000.

This Motor Paving project is the first of its kind for Athens County.  Motor Paving is a cold mix asphalt process where #57 limestone is dumped into a paver and there it is mixed with emulsion then applied to the road about 2.5 inches thick.  The asphalt is them compacted with a roller.  After sufficient curing time, the road is chip sealed with #8 limestone to seal the surface.  There are several benefits to this process including:

• Flexible paving system specifically designed for low volume roads
• Can be applied to roads which have a marginal base, due to the material’s flexibility
• More durable than conventional Hot Mix on low volume roads
• Can be open to traffic as soon as material is compacted
• Motor paving is approximately half the cost of conventional hot mix paving