Work to prevent roads from deteriorating is on hold in Clallam and Jefferson counties for the rest of the year due to a supply shortage of crude oil.
Albina Asphalt of Vancouver, Wash., provides both counties and the state Department of Transportation with chip-seal oil, which is used to maintain the roads.
The company announced on July 18 that it is no longer receiving the crude oil it uses to make the product from its suppliers — leaving road crews from both counties unable to complete their chip-sealing projects for the rest of the year.
“This year, we are done,” said Ross Tyler, Clallam County engineer.
About 20 percent of the chip-sealing projects originally planned will be completed this year because of the lack of supply, he said.
“We rely on the material to preserve our roads,” said Monte Reinders, Jefferson County engineer.
“It’s kind of like going to the gas station and finding that there is no gas.”
The chip-seal oil is embedded with a hard angular rock spread to create a durable road surface.
Reinders said the chip-seal work costs about 15 percent of a full asphalt overlay, and extends the life of the road.
Without the chip-seal, pavement begins to form small cracks that allow water to get into the road surface and increase the rate of its deterioration.
Dave Zellman, Albina salesman, said the company’s suppliers have moved away from refining the crude oil used to produce chip-seal oil in order to produce more gasoline — which is more profitable.
Tom Gaetz, Washington Asphalt Pavement Association executive director, said the shortfall in supply extends across the market.
Gaetz said chip-seal oil and liquid asphalt is made from heavier crude oil found at the bottom of oil barrels.
Refineries are switching to less heavy crude oil which produces less of the oil that companies like Albina need, Gaetz said.
“Because of the higher price of oil, refiners have tried to extract the most they can out of a barrel of crude to meet those demands for gas,” he said.
Reinders said the cost of chip seal oil rose from $210 a ton to $560 a ton since 2005.
