After work was finished on the intersection of Hill and Margaret streets, including the removal of the dip, earlier this year, councillor Glenn Taylor praised the use of hot mix asphalt during the work.

But looking forward, he said the mix needed to be sourced from Dubbo and its use was still restricted to certain projects due to the cost.

Cr Taylor said a hot mix program expansion needed to be considered.

“It’s a false economy to say because it’s expensive, it’s not worth trying to increase, because it lasts so well,” he said.

“There were some sections that were horrendous, they were always causing problems with potholes, but after the hot mix went down, they haven’t been an issue.”

Hot mix uses a combination of fine rock and sand mixed with bitumen and heated to 160 degrees, which creates a smoother and harder wearing surface than spray seal bitumen, which is a thin layer of bitumen covered in crushed rock.

Fellow councillor Jeff Whitton raised the idea two years ago to open a plant, however council staff at the time said it was cost prohibitive.

“I have never accepted that to be the case,” Cr Taylor said.

“We would certainly have enough work here for a hot mix plant - over a long period, it’s a far better quality job and I think it would work out cheaper.”

Cr Whitton said it was time for the council to reconsider starting its own hot mix plant.

“To me, it’s certainly the premium way to do the job,” he said.

“You can really see the difference between [surfaces] - driving on them is like comparing chalk and cheese.”

He said Anson Street between Gardiner Road and the bridge near James Sheehan Catholic School, and the Mitchell Highway near Wontama Village were two examples of successful projects.

Do you have any roads near you, which could do with a hot mix treatment? Let us know about them.

Email danielle.cetinski@fairfaxmedia.com.au.