Recycled tyre rubberised asphalt is being now trialled on the M1 motorway by Highways England
M1 Trials for Rubberised Asphalt
A section of road between junctions 23 to 22 on the southbound carriageway of the M1 near Leicester has been laid with the new surface which has been developed by Tarmac. The Highways Agency seemed unaware of the fact that the first rubberised test was initially laid in Kent around 1990. Nor were they aware that rubberised asphalt was already in use in Scotland on the A90 and had been approved for other projects North of the Border.
Highways England is funding trials into the new asphalt mix to see if this environmentally-sound innovation could be the way forward for future road surfaces. So once again, we are retesting and reinventing the wheel.
It is estimated by Tarmac that up to 750 waste tyres could be used in every kilometre of road surfaced with the new material, depending on the thickness of the road.
The trial on the M1 will test the effective durability of the road surface on a highly trafficked network.
Corporate Group Leader Martin Bolt, who oversees innovations projects for Highways England in the Midlands, said, “Highways England is committed to investing in innovation to help us meet the economic, environmental and efficiency challenges we face in our changing world and also to delivering environment improvements as we strive to ensure our road network works more harmoniously with its surroundings.
“This trial could well be the first step to rapidly reducing the number of tyres piling up in the UK and beyond. The economic and environmental potential of this new asphalt is significant, and we are delighted to be working with Tarmac in this trial.”
Paul Fleetham, managing director of Tarmac, added, “Technical innovation has a key role to play in improving the environmental performance of our roads. As a previously overlooked waste stream, used tyres offer a significant opportunity to unlock the benefits of a circular economy.
There has been a very positive response to our rubberised asphalt since the first local authority trial was announced in May and we’re very pleased to be working with Highways England to explore its potential to support the sustainability of the strategic road network.”
