Dust reduction tests may start soon on gravel roads in Cape Girardeau County

It has been three years since Cape Girardeau County voters approved a sales tax to pave roads and support law enforcement. The money has purchased asphalt, supplied raises to sheriff's deputies and provided relief from property taxes that previously paid for county road work.

But the choking dust that is part of life on gravel roads -- one of biggest issues raised by voters during a series of public meetings before the vote -- remains as those roads await their turn for improvement. That could change as the county prepares to spend almost $6,000 to test two products on 10 to 12 sections of road in various locations.

County Highway Department administrator Scott Bechtold will ask the Cape Girardeau County Commission today for permission to purchase lignin and calcium chloride from a Wickliffe, Ky., vendor to treat 500- to 1,000-foot stretches of gravel. The commission had previously agreed to purchase the material from two vendors, but Bechtold said Friday the prices were almost identical so he's asking for authority to buy the products from a single supplier.

The tests will show which product is more effective and if either is worth the expense, Bechtold said. "The suppliers all tell you how wonderful it is, and it may be," he said.

Lignin is naturally occurring polymer in wood. It can bind the dust to the road surface and is considered ecologically friendly. Calcium chloride is a salt that controls dust by absorbing water from the air.

The tentative list of dust control test sites is ready, but Bechtold said he did not want the list to be public because it could change. Bechtold isn't certain how much road can be covered with the amounts being purchased.

"We are not asking for 25 people to call in and say they want it on their road," Bechtold said.

One location may receive a mix of the two substances to determine if the combination works better than either product alone, Bechtold said.

Some locations will be intersections, while others will be sections where there are concentrations of houses or where people have complained about aggravated breathing problems.

Bechtold said he hasn't purchased the material, even though he was authorized to do so, because he was waiting for summer to settle into the regular hot, dry days that make gravel roads dusty. The rainy spring and cool summer has helped keep dust to a minimum, he said, and he didn't want to waste the county's money.

Calcium chloride, for example, provides the best results if it is applied and there is no rain for at least 48 hours, Bechtold said.

Based on the test results, the county will decide whether the road treatments are worth the money and whether it will ask landowners adjacent to gravel roads to share in the costs, Bechtold said.

If there is little benefit, he added, the county may decide not to make a big investment in dust control. "If it just doesn't work, then we don't want to waste the money," he said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

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