Jack Wilson admits it: He welcomes the rising price of asphalt. It’s not a concrete bias—he is a 40-year contracting veteran who worked impartially with both asphalt and concrete. But now that asphalt milling and repaving is more expensive, he believes the time has finally come for his asphalt overlay invention to gain a wide audience.
Wilson, president and chief executive officer of PolyCon Manufacturing, Madison, Miss., first developed his product, dubbed “E-Krete,” twelve years ago. The ⅛-in.-thick overlay is a light-colored, reflective, water-based polymer composite with cement and aggregate. It acts like a slurry when applied to asphalt pavement, filling in cracks and creating a nonbituminous seal that may preserve the existing road for up to 20 years with minimal maintenance.