As road construction projects take place throughout Michigan, over 100 road grants from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) since 1992 have included scrap tyres, including rubber surface treatments on over 200 lane-miles
In 2024, at least 70 lane-miles will be added. Lane miles are used to measure the total length and lane count of a given highway or road. One lane mile is one mile of one lane of road.
Kirsten Clemens, EGLE’s scrap tyre coordinator, notes that scrap tyres are increasingly being used in road construction projects. “As we all experience road construction projects this summer, it’s good to know that grants are supporting the use of scrap tyres in many of these projects,” she said.
By the end of 2024, EGLE grants will have funded over 300 miles of rubber modified pavement across Michigan in 32 communities.
EGLE has partnered with the Michigan Department of Transportation, Michigan State University (MSU), Michigan Technological University (MTU), Lawrence Technological University, county road commissions, and the Minnesota and Alabama tyre associations to improve paving, while recycling tyres.
EGLE’s Scrap Tire Program is responsible for overseeing the handling of scrap tyres generated in Michigan, cleaning up existing scrap tyre piles of 500 or more tyres, and expanding the reuse and recycling of scrap tyres.
