(City of Littleton)

If you ever thought America’s transportation infrastructure was fit for the toilet, it turns out you were right.

The city of Littleton, Colo., is using toilet paper to help pave its roads, but things in the Denver suburb aren’t as bad as that sounds.

The Denver Post reports that road workers place the paper on top of the freshly-laid tar that they use to fill cracks in the street to help it set and keep it from sticking to tires and shoes as it dries.

A city spokeswoman tells the newspaper that it lets them reopen the streets much sooner, and keeps the tar from being tracked around town. The biodegradable paper itself dissolves in a couple of days.

Other cities, including Lincoln, Neb., have been known to use the method, but this is apparently the first time it’s been employed in the Denver area. According to a Denver Department of Public Works spokeswoman, the city itself hasn’t tried it yet.

“We’ve never used toilet paper for crack sealing,” she said.

It is one of several materials recommended by the Colorado Department of Transportation, however, including another bathroom staple: talcum powder.

Littleton does have some advice for any towns or DIY types thinking of trying the TP technique: don’t use two-ply, the top layer comes off and makes a mess of its own as it blows around.

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