The Asphalt Monopoly on Pacific Avenue
Tacoma’s city government faces pressure as questions arise over paving specifications that seem designed to benefit a massive asphalt trust.
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Tacoma is weighing paving contracts for Pacific Avenue, but concerns are mounting that the specifications allow for the use of inferior American asphalt instead of the industry-standard Trinidad or Bermudez products. Seattle city officials, by contrast, strictly mandate the use of the higher quality material. Tacoma’s Commissioner of Public Works, R.W. Clark, has delayed the awarding of the contract as property owners gather to protest. Critics point out that massive asphalt trusts have spent years attempting to corner the market, and there is fear that the city is being maneuvered into accepting a cheaper, inferior product under the guise of an open bid.
“Why should such power be placed in the hands of the Commissioner?”
Public works contracting remains a sensitive intersection of civic power and corporate interest. The struggle over 'asphalt trusts' reflects the long-standing tension between city infrastructure costs and the influence of large private suppliers.
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