> When Hulka started the job in 2003, asphalt cost between $24 and $27 a ton. “We’re seeing sixty-four dollars and up right now,” he said. We've heard so much

> When Hulka started the job in 2003, asphalt cost between $24 and $27 a ton. “We’re seeing sixty-four dollars and up right now,” he said. We've heard so much about the impact of today's dirt-cheap oil prices versus the $100+ prices of 2014, but petroleum was substantially cheaper in 2003 than it is now. Maybe there is a non-petroleum binder that could be used instead of bitumen to make asphalt cheaper. The article mentions chip sealing, which should cost half as much as asphalt. On a motorcycle trip in Mexico, I encountered a four-lane highway where the left (passing) lanes were of lesser pavement quality than the smooth asphalt right lanes. The idea being, you don't do distance travel on the passing lane so why not reduce the cost by paving that lane in a less expensive fashion. Of course, even that level of pavement would be farfetched for many degraded county roads, but it's a clever way to reduce the cost of a four-lane highway.