Old tyres reused to make safer and smoother local roads

Almost 5700 old tyres have been recycled as part of a Fraser Coast Regional Council bitumen resealing program aimed at making local roads safer.

Councillor Phil Truscott said Council was committed to maintaining and improving local roads with bitumen resealing an important part of the annual maintenance program.

“A bitumen reseal involves spraying a thin layer of bitumen over an existing old road surface to protect the underlying pavement from weather damage,” he said.

“Generally a reseal will extend the life of a road by eight to 14 years, depending on the type and amount of vehicles on the road. A reseal provides a new surface texture which increases skid resistance for vehicles and makes our roads safer.

“For our reseal program, we use a bitumen that is blended with crumb rubber produced from old tyres. It is more durable and less prone to cracking.

“In the 2019/20 financial year, about 362,000 litres of crumb rubber bitumen was sprayed on roads in 54 locations throughout Hervey Bay, Maryborough and rural areas of the Fraser Coast region.

“The bitumen reseal program prevented the equivalent of almost 5700 old tyres ending up in landfill, which is a great result for our roads, a great result for motorists and a great result for the environment.”

Cr Truscott said Council had allocated $7 million for road resurfacing in the 2020/21 financial year, with the locations and extent of the next bitumen resealing program to be decided in coming months.

“The Fraser Coast Regional Council is determined to ensure we have resilient regional infrastructure, and we’re investing more than $40 million in roads, bridges and drainage in this financial year – almost a third of our capital works budget,” he said.

“It’s all part of Council’s plan to build better communities and keep the Fraser Coast moving.”