P.E.I. to use shredded tires as drainage on wet, unpaved roads

Prince Edward Island is launching a pilot project using shredded tires to help dry up muddyunpaved roads.

A similar project was done about a decade ago when the province used chipped tires on roads, butStephen Yeo, chief engineer for the Department of Transportation, says those 20-25 centimetrechunks weretoo big to be effective.

This time, thepieces are smaller, about five centimetres,which he says should work better.

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"We'll put a foot thick of the shredded tires down and sandstone over the top and see how they perform," he said.

"It should create a good drainage system in the roadbed itself for getting rid of moisture if it works, that'll be a bonus for recycling these tires."

Could be used in the future, if project proves successful

Last year, a Monctoncompany shredded a quantity of tires atIsland Waste Management.

Those tire fragments should help roads to dry up quicker, moving water to the ditches instead of poolingon roadways, Yeo said.

"If this works out, and dries up the road a lot quicker, and you're able to maintain traffic on it better, we'd certainly look at doing this to a number of roads every year," he said.

If this works out ... we'd certainly look at doing this to a number of roads every year Stephen Yeo

If successful, the tires couldbe usedin place of "expensive gravel" from the mainland, Yeo said.Itwill also mean fewer tires to be trucked off the Island or thrown in the waste.

The Department of Environment has been consulted, Yeo said, and concluded that there are no environmental concerns.

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