Asphalt prices skyrocket, highway officials scramble to adjust

Skyrocketing asphalt prices this spring are causing governments around Wisconsin to scramble to cover the cost of planned road building by using a lower grade of material, recycling some of it or considering a work cutback.

Homeowners and businesses are also debating whether to go ahead with plans for new driveways or parking lots at a higher price or risk it spiraling even further upward.

John Poblocki, owner of Poblocki Paving Corp. in West Allis, has been in the business for 38 years and says he’s never seen anything like the recent increase in the price of asphalt.
“The price has been fairly steady for about 15 years,” he said. “Some years it went up 2 or 3 percent, and some years not at all. But this spring it has gone up about 30 percent.”

Poblocki and others said the primary reason for the boost was because the liquid component used in asphalt is derived from crude oil, which has been priced high at about $70 a barrel.

Duluth News Tribune