Pittsburgh mulls re-entering paving business

Seven years after Pittsburgh sold its asphalt plant because buying from a private contractor is cheaper, the city's public works director wants to build a $4 million plant to drastically increase the amount of paving done yearly.

Public Works Director Rob Kaczorowski said the city needs to pave about 800 miles of streets immediately, but has money for only about 30 miles this year.

"We could probably produce asphalt substantially cheaper than we buy it," he said. "Instead of paving 30 miles of streets each year, we think we can do 60 miles of streets."

Financial overseers of the cash-strapped city, taxpayers and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's administration all said officials should figure out if getting back into the asphalt business makes financial sense before making any move. The city budgeted $12 million for paving this year, which includes buying the asphalt it needs.

"We need a cost benefit analysis, we need a plan, we need a location, we need permits. None of that has happened," said Duane Ashley, the city operations director.