Sutherland Shire Council rolls out recycled roads trial

Sutherland Shire Council has rolled out an innovative road construction project, trialling a method that recycles existing road surfaces by reapplying them as part of a ‘foamed asphalt’ mix, employing specialised machinery to complete the process in a single pass.

Sutherland Shire Mayor Councillor Carmelo Pesce said Council was proud to be leading the way in the adoption of the new road construction methodology, explaining that, if successful, it has extraordinary potential to be used across Australia.

“Sutherland Shire Council is intently focused on seeking out innovative ways to deliver better infrastructure for local residents,” Councillor Pesce said.

“With the foamed asphalt technique adopted for our Bundeena Drive roadworks, it allowed us to upgrade this stretch of road in a more cost-effective, faster and more environmentally friendly way. There is obviously significant scope for it to be applied elsewhere.”

The completed Bundeena Drive roadworks has seen the road not only quickly recycled and rehabilitated, but widened from six to 10 metres, allowing for the inclusion of a 1.8 m-wide cycle lane on either side of the road. The simultaneous road-widening capacity was another key advantage and reason for Council electing to use this new process.

The foamed asphalt road construction methodology has so far only been trialled by a select number of councils around Australia, but has been used more extensively in the US, the UK, Germany and other parts of Europe.

Among the major benefits are the efficient recycling of the existing road surface, which prevents in excess of 80% of this valuable construction material from becoming landfill, and an associated reduction in greenhouse gas emissions generated during the construction process by over 50%.

Stabilised Pavements Australia, who completed the works in partnership with Council, is reported to be the first construction firm in Australia to embrace the innovative road construction process.