Even as the city of Lawrence is enjoying longer-lasting street surfaces, Jack Cameron reports there’s a move afoot to return to a much older form of paving.

Streets in Lawrence are lasting longer than they have in years. That’s because modern paving technology has created a stronger material for road design. It’s called fly ash and it’s a byproduct of burnt coal from power plants. Mixed with water and dirt, it becomes hard as concrete and is resulting in Lawrence’s streets being far stronger than before. But now, an East Lawrence group says it wants to see a return to what we might call “heritage street paving”. In other words, bricks. Maintaining brick streets isn’t easy but the group is looking to the town of Holton for guidance. There, the town has eight miles of brick streets and replaces about two blocks every summer. Young people, supervised by adults, do the work so it’s win-win: well-maintained brick streets, summer employment for youth. Folks in East Lawrence say that’s a good model and are hoping the City Commission will look into the project further.