CLINTON - A DeWitt County road surfacing problem has resurfaced again.

Two years ago, a bad batch of road-surfacing material led to more than 170 flat tires for motorists using the Waynesville blacktop. Officials believed they had solved the problem, but they're getting hit again with complaints and reimbursement claims.

"Boiler slag" is a coarse, hard, black, angular, glassy material left after coal is burned. The road, near Dewitt, connects U.S. 54 to the DeWitt County Marina, and was resurfaced just before the July Fourth weekend.

"We have used boiler slag for about 20 years," county Board Chairman Steve Lobb said Thursday. "It has been a durable surface, and when we had the problems a few years ago, we used a steel drum to crush these shards, and it worked well. But, even with using that this time around, we encountered problems."

Chuck Moore, DeWitt County road and bridge committee chairman, said the county will not take any more chances.

"We are in the process of finding an alternative material, but we just can't use this anymore," Moore said. "We are not the only county having this problem. Several other counties throughout Illinois have reported similar situations."

DeWitt County already has reimbursed several motorists for new tires this summer because the slag punctured their tires.

"The cost is probably somewhere around $3,000, and that is a significant number," Lobb said. "We were certainly aware of the problem a few years ago and believed that we had found a solution, but when it becomes a public safety issue, you have to stop what you are doing and come up with a new plan."

Highway Superintendent Craig Fink expects to update the board in August.

Kevin Barlow can be reached at kbarlow@pantagraph.com.