Tyre chip is to be used to provide drainage on unpaved Prince Edward Island roads that turn muddy when wet.Â
Handy Use for Tyre Chip on Prince Edward Island Roads, Although Debate as to Which Size is Suitable
A similar project was carried out about 10 years ago when the Canadian province used chipped tyres on roads, but Stephen Yeo, chief engineer for the Department of Transportation, says those 20-25 centimetre chunks were too big to be effective.
This time, the pieces are smaller, about five centimetres, which he says should work better.
“We’ll put a foot thick of the shredded tyres down and sandstone over the top and see how they perform,” he said.
“It should create a good drainage system in the roadbed itself for getting rid of moisture – if it works, that’ll be a bonus for recycling these tyres.”​
Transportation Department engineer Stephen Yeo says the tyres should help roads to dry up quicker, moving water to the ditches instead of pooling on roadways.
“If this works out, and dries up the road a lot quicker, and you’re able to maintain traffic on it better, we’d certainly look at doing this to a number of roads every year,” he said.
If successful, the tyres could be used in place of “expensive gravel” from the mainland, Yeo said. It will also mean fewer tyres to be trucked off the Island or thrown in the waste.
The Department of Environment has been consulted, Yeo said, and concluded that there are no environmental concerns. ​