Tyler is the first city in the State of Texas to use a new type of overlay called E-Krete for roads, shoulders and runways. Created, manufactured and distributed by Mississippi based PolyCon Manufacturing, city engineers say it will cut costs and improve overall quality of streets. E-Krete is an extremely durable polymer composite micro-overlay (PCMO™) that bonds securely to asphalt pavement, chip seal, polished stone and other bituminous products, as well as concrete and primed metal.

E-Krete is unaffected by water, UV, ice, oxidation, automotive fluids, aircraft fluids, oil, diesel and gasoline. Cracks in oxidized pavement are filled by the PCMO material as the asphalt pavement is capped with a 1/8-inch lift of E-Krete in contrast to overlaying with 1 1/2 inch of asphalt.

For regular asphalt overlaying, it costs $7.29/square yard with 1 year warranty and lasts approx. 8 years vs E-Krete is $5.85/square yard with a 10 year warranty and can last 20 years.

The presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)in asphalt, which are suspected human carcinogens, presents a serious environmental problem. Asphalt also produces unwanted urban heat islands, and its dark surface color creates a nighttime illumination problem.

It is completely environmentally friendly, so much so that the company touts, "you can even drink the water that comes off the top of it". Due to the lack of any VOC's in the formula, the Environmental Protection Agency selected Polycon as a partnered company. PolyCon's cement based sealer SlurrykoteTM is the only durable, environmentally safe, alternative to toxic sealcoat materials, and asphalt emulsion based sealers that have a short life span.

E-Krete can be applied to roads, regional and military airports, offshore heliodecks, and parking lots. It is the only cementitious pavement preservation material approved by the FAA, EPA, Army Corp of Engineers. It is being used in the Middle East and Asia. There are 15 more states that are now in the approval process. It is expected to save millions of tax dollars for the entire country.

E-Krete provides an SRI (Solar Reflectivity Index) that meets and exceeds the requirement for LEED projects. E-Krete reduces the heat by as much as 12 degrees Farenheit compared to the heat which is absorbed and stored in asphalt. The heat generated by pavement is a problem that contributes significantly to the UHI (Urban Heat Index) which in turn contributes to global warming. A higher SRI allows asphalt pavement to be used as the paving material in an environment where the elimination of "heat islands" and enhanced illumination are important issues. Now for the first time ever, E-Krete can turn asphalt into a "green" product.