Chattanooga area street repairs hit roadblock

Gene Turley digs out asphalt and dirt Wednesday from an area of Brainerd Road. The crew will build a better base and refill the area with asphalt. Staff Photo by Angela Lewis/Chattanooga Times Free Press

Charles Shannon signals to the milling machine operator while the crew digs out asphalt and dirt from an area of Brainerd Road. The crew will build a better base and refill the area with asphalt. Staff Photo by Angela Lewis/Chattanooga Times Free Press

The combination of rising petroleum costs and tight government budgets likely means area public works crews will fix fewer winter-battered roads this year.

“I’ll lose one or two road projects,” said Frank Campbell, special projects coordinator for the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

Oil prices directly impact the price of asphalt, Red Bank Public Works Director Wayne Hamill said.

“In some cases, it prevents us from doing resurfacing,” he said.

Asphalt cost $490.45 a ton this month, compared with about $440 a ton in November, according to TDOT.