Haskell Lemon Construction Co. has been in business for about 60 years, said Vice President Bob Lemon. He's seen prices for construction materials go up and down. But before this summer, he had never seen a shortage of asphalt materials.

Then again, no one has ever seen oil at more than $130 a barrel, or gasoline prices so close to $4 per gallon. Prices on all products made using oil have skyrocketed as well.

"We've done some scrambling," said Lemon. "For an asphalt company, that's not a good thing to run out of asphalt. "

The company gets oil from local refineries and mixes it with rocks and sand to produce asphalt, which is provided to contractors and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, among other clients. Supplies began to tighten as the summer approached, said Lemon. When the company's main supplier, Valero Refining Co. in Ardmore, experienced a few equipment problems, even the slight decline in production had a significant effect.