Road Experiment in Talkeetna a Bust

The Mat-Su Borough began testing a new organic compound on two gravel roads a year ago. But it didn’t perform as well as expected, according to Mat-Su Borough Roads Branch Manager Dustin Spidal.

One of the roads tested with Perma-Zyme was Barge Drive just off the Talkeetna Spur Road. When applied to gravel surfaces and allowed to cure, Perma-Zyme binds the particles together to create a concrete-like surface. It was supposed to significantly extend maintenance time windows to about seven years.

Spidal says the material on Barge Drive did work for the most part. But after a pothole blowout, the patch didn’t hold after spring. And the patching process was difficult and expensive.

Spidal says the material costs substantially more than calcium chloride, which also acts to stabilize the gravel roads. He says calcium chloride also seems to hold up better than the Perma-Zyme.

The road crews will continue their work repairing gravel roads in downtown Talkeetna this month. Second Street near the airport will be partially closed on September 9th to repair a manhole.

At the end of September, crews will work on Main, C, and D streets. They hope to finish before freeze-up in October.