County To Try Replay On Road

BROOKSVILLE - County engineers believe they've hit on a way to improve local roads and save money at the same time.

They plan to use a product called Replay, which should rejuvenate crumbling asphalt pavement on key roads.

Commissioners this week voted unanimously to allow the county engineering department to bid out the product to use on roads in need of rejuvenation. Because Replay is patented by its manufacturer, Missouri-based BioSpan, engineers had to first get county permission.

The vote comes about one month after the board approved its 2007-08 pavement management program, which outlines the timetable for road improvements in the coming months.

After researching other asphalt improvement products - some costing more, some less - Replay represents the "best value possible" for Hernando County, according to pavement management coordinator Bill Busch.

Replay is used extensively in the Midwest and Northeast and the county has been used on private roads before in Hernando County, specifically in the Brookridge Mobile Home Park.

Costs are to be determined. However, estimates from other areas in the country that used Replay ranged from $105,000 to $141,000 for every 10 miles of use.

"Although we are in a funding crunch, the preservation of our residential and collector road network is essential," according to Busch. "We feel that applying this product to our roadways could save Hernando County hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars."

Busch believes that using Replay could delay costly asphalt repairs projects for 15-20 years.

The county had already done tests of the product on six local roads and determined the product met all expectations, he said.

Last month, county commissioners approved spending $7.5 million on its pavement management program, with the money coming out of various gas taxes and the general fund.

Assistant County Engineer Gregg Sutton said it's important to resurface roads now before they start to degrade and form potholes. Replay, he said, is another tool in the county's arsenal to help keep roads from deteriorating and resorting to expensive resurfacing measures.

Many of the county's residential roads were last repaved in the mid- to late-1990s. The county does not yet know which roads will get the Replay treatment.

However, some of the residential roads identified in the pavement management plan in need of resurfacing include Cobblestone Drive, Landover Boulevard, Waterfall Drive, Ridge Manor Boulevard and Coronado Drive.

Improving collector, or main roads, are more extensive and expensive.

Those roads improvements include resurfacing on Fort Dade Avenue East from Main Street to U.S. 41; Ridge Manor Boulevard from State Road 50 to U.S. 301; Elgin Boulevard, from Tanner Rod to Barclay Road; Deltona Boulevard, from Northcliffe Boulevard to State Road 50; and Mariner Boulevard, from Spring Hill Drive to Northcliffe Boulevard.

The average life of a paved road surface is 5-20 years, depending on such things as surface material, traffic and drainage, according to the county.

County Commissioners Rose Rocco and Chris Kingsley questioned whether the engineering department had explored cost options and if Replay would work on local roads.

County Engineer Charles Mixson said he had done a cost and quality comparison of similar products and Replay was the better product overall.

Ultimately, it would save the county money, Mixson said.