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GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Steve Casano believes he has a product that would eliminate, or at least greatly reduce the amount of time and money local government spends on fixing potholes and building roads. Casano distributes a soil technology that he said is also better for the environment.
InfraCrete , a mixture of powdered minerals used to stabilize soil, was created in Germany 13 years ago.
Traditionally, roads are built by constructing a two to four-foot-deep cross-section of aggregates before laying the asphalt on top, Casano said.
The problem, Casano said, there are a lot of expansive clays in the area that swell with moisture.
“That's why they're always fixing asphalt cracks,” Casano said. “Roads fail because of base failures.”
Casano and his wife, Kimberly, own Grand Junction-based Stabl-Eze road and soil stabilization business; they distribute InfraCrete in the United States.
“This system (creates) a water impermeable base. You can build out of the natural soil on site,” Casano said. “You don't have to bring in aggregates.”
Eliminating the need to haul out native soil, and haul in aggregates reduces energy usage and saves money, Casano said.
“The big thing is longevity,” Casano said. “You don't have asphalt failure due to base failure, so asphalt lasts many times longer.”
Grand Junction is currently seeking to fix a relatively new First Street project near Bookcliff Gardens, after the road there started cracking a few months after a Denver firm built the road. Stabl-Eze has provided the city a bid on the product to fix the road.
Mesa County already tried the product when it fixed two cul-de-sacs in the Bookcliff Ranches Subdivision a year ago.
“There was a lot of ground water and salt in the soil, holding moisture, and the road was failing,” Casano said.
“The jury is still out, (but) so far the results are positive,” said Mesa County staff engineer Kevin King. “We're pretty confident we got a pretty solid road base.”
Part of the reason the county decided to try the product, “we did not want to haul construction materials in and out,” fearing the heavy traffic would cause more damage to nearby roads, King said.
“It's much more eco-friendly, and less costly,” being able to use the existing soil, Casano said. The overall road construction time is less, as well, he said.
King said the repair cost about half of what a total reconstruction would have been.
“One advantage we had, the government has access to ‘junk' cement — we got that for free,” King said.
The oil and gas industry mixes cement for making well casings, and often has left-over cement that often ends up being hauled to a private landfill on 6 Road.
Casano is a proponent of using the “junk” cement, which when mixed with InfraCrete, makes a good road base, he said.
“There's a tremendous amount that could be used to improve our roads, and they're throwing it away,” Casano said.
Stabl-Eze can be reached at 234-0800.
Reach Sharon Sullivan at ssullivan@gjfreepress.com.
InfraCrete , a mixture of powdered minerals used to stabilize soil, was created in Germany 13 years ago.
Traditionally, roads are built by constructing a two to four-foot-deep cross-section of aggregates before laying the asphalt on top, Casano said.
The problem, Casano said, there are a lot of expansive clays in the area that swell with moisture.
“That's why they're always fixing asphalt cracks,” Casano said. “Roads fail because of base failures.”
Casano and his wife, Kimberly, own Grand Junction-based Stabl-Eze road and soil stabilization business; they distribute InfraCrete in the United States.
“This system (creates) a water impermeable base. You can build out of the natural soil on site,” Casano said. “You don't have to bring in aggregates.”
Eliminating the need to haul out native soil, and haul in aggregates reduces energy usage and saves money, Casano said.
“The big thing is longevity,” Casano said. “You don't have asphalt failure due to base failure, so asphalt lasts many times longer.”
Grand Junction is currently seeking to fix a relatively new First Street project near Bookcliff Gardens, after the road there started cracking a few months after a Denver firm built the road. Stabl-Eze has provided the city a bid on the product to fix the road.
Mesa County already tried the product when it fixed two cul-de-sacs in the Bookcliff Ranches Subdivision a year ago.
“There was a lot of ground water and salt in the soil, holding moisture, and the road was failing,” Casano said.
“The jury is still out, (but) so far the results are positive,” said Mesa County staff engineer Kevin King. “We're pretty confident we got a pretty solid road base.”
Part of the reason the county decided to try the product, “we did not want to haul construction materials in and out,” fearing the heavy traffic would cause more damage to nearby roads, King said.
“It's much more eco-friendly, and less costly,” being able to use the existing soil, Casano said. The overall road construction time is less, as well, he said.
King said the repair cost about half of what a total reconstruction would have been.
“One advantage we had, the government has access to ‘junk' cement — we got that for free,” King said.
The oil and gas industry mixes cement for making well casings, and often has left-over cement that often ends up being hauled to a private landfill on 6 Road.
Casano is a proponent of using the “junk” cement, which when mixed with InfraCrete, makes a good road base, he said.
“There's a tremendous amount that could be used to improve our roads, and they're throwing it away,” Casano said.
Stabl-Eze can be reached at 234-0800.
Reach Sharon Sullivan at ssullivan@gjfreepress.com.
