Kentucky Grants Promote Rubberized Asphalt Projects

The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet (EEC) has awarded $444,988 in grant funding for rubber-modified asphalt projects that use crumb rubber manufactured from waste tires. This is the third year the cabinet has offered this grant.

The grants will be used for the application of chip seal or asphalt overlay to county or metro government roads. Chip seal is a road surface treatment that combines asphalt with fine aggregate, and can extend a road’s life up to eight years. Asphalt overlay is a new layer of asphalt applied over an existing asphalt surface, and can extend the road life from seven to 10 years.

The following counties received grants: Adair, Bracken, Green, Hart, Jefferson, Marion and Taylor.

While the Cabinet intended to only award up to five grants, due to the number of qualified applicants seven recipients were chosen out of 12 applicants, according to the EEC grant program manager Lisa Evans.

The grants are made from the Waste Tire Trust Fund, established in 1998 by the Kentucky General Assembly. The fund receives a $2 fee from each new tire sold in the state and helps manage the millions of scrap tires generated each year, while developing markets for recycled tire products.

“We are pleased to see the increased level of interest in this grant program,” Cabinet Secretary Charles Snavely said. “It is a great use of recycled rubber to improve distressed roadways in the Commonwealth.”.

© Scrap Tire News, August 2018