HRM has put a new spin on their most recent road project.
Recycled tires were used to create 250 metres of roadway connecting Highway 103 to the new Ragged Lake transit station, said HRM’s transportation planning manager David McCusker.
“We gave it a try and it seemed to work well,” McCusker said Tuesday.
The connector project was finished last fall, and McCusker said cost about $1.4 million which was comparable to the price of using regular gravel or other materials.
McCusker said Ragged Lake was a perfect place to try the tire derived aggregate (TDA) because it was close to the recycling plant where the tires were broken down so there was a low cost to haul the rubber.
Tires are inert and don’t break down the way organics do so there’s no danger that chemicals could eventually leak into the ground, McCusker said.
The pieces used in the project were a foot or so long and easy to use during wet weather because they don’t become saturated like gravel or soil, McCusker said.
Gravel was placed around the tires to weigh it down before the paving began, McCusker said.
“They’re nicely sealed in place and nobody sees them, and they’re still doing a useful job.”
HRM said 8,000 cubic metres of TDA was used, which is about three quarters of Nova Scotia’s average tire production per year or 800,000 tires.
McCusker said this is also the first local road built for transit buses only, which should save the buses some time and add up to $100,000 a year in savings.
“Time will tell regarding the durability, but it’s nice to have given it a try,” McCusker said.
Source: Metro News
Published: 11 Mar 2014