Utility Cut Using EZ Street Cold Asphalt in Hoonah, AK
Hoonah, Alaska (population 860; 1300 in the summer) is only 30 miles from the state capital of Juneau. It’s a short plane ride between the two cities and a bit slower via ferry, but has no other options for travel and transport because Hoonah is on an island with no bridge to the Alaska Marine Highway.
So when the Alaska Energy Authority/Rural Energy Group devised a modernized, energy-saving plan that required a 6,500-foot long, 4-foot wide utility cut (under Douglas Drive, a vehicular traffic road), how would asphalt find its way there to satisfy the needs of repaving? The single asphalt plant in Juneau would have to make difficult and expensive trips to Hoonah with hot asphalt sufficient to connect the heat-generating plant with a cluster of six public buildings.
The answer came in 33 two-ton bulk sacks of EZ Street cold asphalt, supplied by Lakeside Industries of Issaquah, Washington, working with CE2 Engineers, Inc. of Anchorage. The sacks were shipped from Seattle to Hoonah via the Alaska Marine Line system, a commercial shipper.
Cold asphalt can be transported and stored for months in closed containers, allowing application as needed, not compromised by cooling. It is also capable of installation in cooler temperatures (however with this application the construction was completed in June 2012).
The new system now in use by Hoonah incorporates a heat recovery supply and return function with buried 4-inch piping. The efficiencies of the system, which includes use of hydroelectric power in off-hours to supplement diesel fuel –run generators, is projected to conserve 57,000 gallons of space heating diesel fuel each year.The public buildings served include a school classroom building, a gymnasium and pool, the town fire hall, senior center, senior apartments and a health clinic.
Speak with your local representative before proceeding with a similar application to the one shown here.
