City uses toilet paper to help fix cracks in street

No, the city is not full of Halloween pranksters.

The toilet paper that looks as if it were tossed along streets in Littleton was put down by city officials in an effort to help ease drivers’ ride.

The toilet paper is applied with a paint roller over fresh tar in order to help absorb oil and keeping it from sticking to people’s shoes or car and bike tires.

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“We use it so we can keep moving and get more done,” Clay Engelman, a supervisor in the city’s street and traffic operations division told The Denver Post.

The tar sets in about 40 minutes and allows traffic back on the road quickly after repairs, said Kelli Narde, a spokeswoman for Littleton.

“It means traffic has better access because we don’t have to close down a street to do the sealing,” Narde told the Post. “Even though it looks like a Halloween prank, it works and it’s very inexpensive.”

City officials did learn not to use two-ply. The top ply does not absorb the oil and ends up blowing into people’s yards.