Controlling dust

Many residents along unpaved roads in Cape Girardeau County would like to see those roads paved. The county paving program, funded by a sales tax passed in 2006, pays for a few miles of paving each year.

One of the main concerns with gravel roads is the dust that is kicked up by vehicles. Paving not only provides an all-weather surface, but it also eliminates the dust problem.

This summer county road crews will be testing two products along several stretches of gravel roads and at intersections to see if they keep down dust as claimed by vendors. For a relatively small investment of $6,000, the county will see if lignin or calcium chloride -- or a combination of both -- does a good job of eliminating the dust problem.

If either of the products is effective, the county will then have to decide how many and which stretches of county road should be treated -- and how much it wants to spend on dust control instead of paving.

If lignin, a wood polymer, or calcium chloride, a moisture-absorbing salt, work, it is potentially good news for residents who will be waiting longer for paving of their county roads.