Victoria is paving the way for road maintenance innovation as they try out locally processed recycled asphalt on a section of the Hume Freeway.
Over 2,100 tons of recycled road base product will be used to rebuild the south-bound lane on an 850- metre stretch of freeway.
“By diverting this waste from landfill and putting it into road projects like this, we’re taking the pressure off our precious natural resources,” Minister for Roads and Road Safety Ben Carroll said.
“We’re supporting regional communities and the local economy by keeping freight moving around critical transport links like the Hume.”
The recycled asphalt is a combination of approximately 1 million recycled glass bottles, 746,000 plastic bags, 420 ton of reclaimed asphalt and 21,800 printer cartridges. It will be processed at the Wodonga Asphalt plant.
Performance testing of the recycled road surface has shown a significant improvement in the longevity of asphalt, increasing its resistance to cracking and enabling it to withstand heavy traffic for longer than traditional road surfaces.
An average of 6,500 vehicles travels on this section of the freeway each day. 40 per cent of these vehicles are trucks.
The $845,000 recycled asphalt project is part of the state government’s $85 million maintenance blitz across north east Victoria.
“It’s fantastic to see local business from within the north east coming up with innovative solutions to road maintenance issues,” Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes said.
“Not only will this new surface help us cut down on waste, it will also last longer than traditional asphalt – giving us more value for money in our road maintenance program.”
Road work on the Hume Freeway started on site yesterday and are expected to be completed within a week.
Around 250 kilometres of road will be targeted by the state government in the 2020/21 road maintenance season.
The initiative is part of the two-year, $425 million investment into rebuilding and resurfacing Victoria’s regional roads.