Concrete recycled during Washington highway project

The Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is recycling concrete during a highway rehabilitation project in Tacoma, a report by KIRO 7 says. Interstate 5’s (I-5’s) northbound lanes are being repaved by Skanska, New York.

According to WSDOT representative Cara Mitchell, Skanska crews are stockpiling concrete and crushing it on-site rather than hauling it to the landfill or a recycling center. The method has so far produced more than 24,000 tons of recycled material and saved more than 940 truck trips to and from the site.

The recycled concrete is used as a base layer for the highway and will be covered in asphalt, the report says.

In 2015, Washington state legislators created a law to reuse and recycle concrete material in road projects but WSDOT says the project was already underway before the legislation came into effect. Before the law passed, contractors weren’t required to comply but Skanska voluntarily recycled the materials during the project.