The recycled crushed concrete producers and MHCA are continuing to work with Winnipeg’s Public Works officials to see the recycled road material used on the reconstruction or repair of city streets this year.
The City of Winnipeg has introduced new road-building specifications that call for increased testing and a change in properties of the aggregate materials used in the construction of road base and sub-base.
“We do appreciate the willingness of senior City officials to meet and continue the discussion to work through challenges with the new specifications,” MHCA President Chris Lorenc said. “We regard this construction season as largely a trial year, with both sides adjusting to how the new specifications affect the production and application of aggregates, especially the crushed concrete for use as a sub-base material for the reconstructed street.”
Crushed concrete has been used for decades for road building and repair in Winnipeg and other municipalities. That has saved millions of tonnes of road-waste material from getting dumped in landfills while preventing the need for drawing many greater loads of natural aggregates from pits and quarries. The City of Winnipeg is changing its specifications to improve the drainage and durability of streets, with the intent of increasing their lifespan.
“We need to find a workable solution – which we believe is achievable – to meet the City’s needs, but to also allow for the use of this material, which has proven itself through the decades,” Lorenc noted.
“It simply is environmentally unsustainable to relegate hundreds of thousands of tonnes of old concrete, torn up from roads under repair each year, to the landfill. The City and the industry both recognize the need to manage our resources, both natural and recycled, in a sensitive and responsible manner, and that is why we are engage in cooperatively working through the challenges right now.”