Recycled Tires Help Pave the Way in Colorado

Recycled tires have been used to line to roadbed on a stretch of road in Loveland, Colo., as part of a road engineering experiment by Colorado State University, according to a report in the Daily Times Call (Longmont, Colo.).

The city has mixed shredded tire rubber with the soil for the roadbed on 200 feet of temporary road, according to the report. The road will then be paved with asphalt as normal.

According to the report, fly ash is typically mixed with soil to create a kind of concrete. But with prices for fly ash climbing, the state has been stockpiling about 40 million used tires. The city and university hopes this experiment will show a viable market for the cheaper material.

Over the next year, students from CSU will monitor the road segments.