City on the road to reducing carbon footprint

The City of Gold Coast is trialling a new road recycling technology which halves the greenhouse gas emissions normally produced during conventional asphalting.

Foamed asphalt is an innovative technology which recycles 100 per cent of the existing road to create a more superior pavement.

Mayor Tom Tate said the technology offered significant environmental and economic benefits.

“The entire recycling and resurfacing process takes place on the spot, removing the need to dig up and dispose of existing road material,” he said.

“This results in a shorter construction time and requires fewer heavy vehicles which minimises disruption to road users.

“This process contributes to a 50 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions when compared to conventional asphalting methods and also results in a 30 to 50 per cent saving for ratepayers.

“By trialling innovative technologies, we are planning for the future to manage traffic congestion and protect our economy, lifestyle and environment.” 

The recycling process using foamed bitumen occurs simultaneously when breaking down the existing road material.

The recycled material is transferred down the construction train from the conveyer to the paver, where a secondary mixing takes places to enhance uniformity of the material.

Finally, the paver lays the mix in an efficient manner, eliminating the need of a grader machine.

In this process, the properties of the existing material are altered to create a technically superior pavement, which has the ability to be recycled again.

The City is responsible for 3,230 kilometres of local roads, growing each year by approximately 25 kilometres.

Gold Coast roads are some of the most reliable in the country with 93 per cent in very good to good condition, compared to the national average of which 66 per cent are in very good to good condition.