‘If it works, that’ll be a bonus for recycling these tires,’ says Transportation Department official
Prince Edward Island is launching a pilot project using shredded tires to help dry up muddy unpaved roads.
A similar project was done about a decade ago when the province used chipped tires on roads, but Stephen Yeo, chief engineer for the Department of Transportation, says those 20-25 centimetre chunks were too big to be effective.
This time, the pieces are smaller, about five centimetres, which he says should work better.
“We’ll put a foot thick of the shredded tires down and sandstone over the top and see how they perform,” he said.
“It should create a good drainage system in the roadbed itself for getting rid of moisture — if it works, that’ll be a bonus for recycling these tires.”
Could be used in the future, if project proves successful
Last year, a Moncton company shredded a quantity of tires at Island Waste Management.
Those tire fragments should help roads to dry up quicker, moving water to the ditches instead of pooling on roadways, Yeo said.
“If this works out, and dries up the road a lot quicker, and you’re able to maintain traffic on it better, we’d certainly look at doing this to a number of roads every year,” he said.
If this works out … we’d certainly look at doing this to a number of roads every year
— Stephen Yeo
If successful, the tires could be used in place of “expensive gravel” from the mainland, Yeo said. It will also mean fewer tires to be trucked off the Island or thrown in the waste.
The Department of Environment has been consulted, Yeo said, and concluded that there are no environmental concerns.
