Why a common blue bag item is being used in highway work
Recycled glass crushed to the size of gravel is being used in culverts and medians
Highway crews are making the new roundabout in Oyster Bed Bridge more environmentally friendly.
They are using a common item found on recycling pick up day — glass from non-refillable bottles and jars — in construction of medians and culvert beds.
"It's light and easy to move. Easy to rake and work with," said Todd LaBrech, project manager with the Department of Transportation.
Crews have been busy with rakes and shovels at the intersection of Routes 6, 7 and 251 in Oyster Bed Bridge, smoothing out the last of some 350 tonnes of crushed glass that have been used in the project.
LaBrech picked up a handful of the gravel-sized shards, worn more or less smooth after being crushed, trucked and stockpiled at the work site.
"We use the crushed glass as an alternative to the more expensive gravels," said LaBrech. "It's an environmentally friendly way to get rid of the glass and it's a great cost-saving measure to the department."
A front end loader was hoisting crushed glass by the bucket load and dumping it inside the concrete curbs of medians still under construction.
After a 10 centimetre layer of crushed glass was in place and levelled, it was covered with the distinctive pale red concrete that marks the turning circles and medians of many Island roundabouts.
On the roadway itself, where cars and trucks will travel, heavy duty gravel is still used, because of its superior weight-bearing capacity.
Staff continue to look for new uses for glass, including a road-side retaining wall now under construction in Hunter River. The characteristics of crushed glass make it useful where good drainage is needed.
"We're using it in behind the wall as well as inside the voids in the brick itself," said LaBrech.
The province says it is now using up to 1,800 metric tonnes of recycled glass in road construction projects every year. They've been using it for the past five years or so.
The roundabout in Oyster Bed Bridge is slated to be complete by July 1st.
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