In August 1999, the Chautauqua County Department of Public Facilities
Division of Transportation (DPF-T) completed the Condin Road
project in which scrap tire bales were used as a road subgrade
instead of the more traditional methods used throughout the
U.S., according to DPF-T Deputy Director Kenneth Smith.
This project was a research development
and demonstration project permitted by the New York State Division
of Environmental Conservation, Smith said.
According to Smith Condin Roadwas
built in the late 1800's over wet clay soils. "Each spring
when the frost would leave the road we would suffer tremendous
break up of gravel surface", Smith said. ÒIn some cases,
this was so bad the road was impassable," he said.
Chautauqua County removed the
subgrade for 1000 ft. on Condin Road and placed typar (a construction
fabric) on the native soil. The tire bales were place atop the
fabric in a brick-like pattern. All the voids between the bales
were filled with coarse sand. County road workers used a vibratory
roller to make sure all the voids were filled before placing
three 6-inch gravel lifts on top of the bales. Each gravel layer
was compacted as it was laid, Smith said.
"Our winter was very light
on snowfall but we had six weeks of constant near zero weather,"
Smith said. "The test section on Condin Road looks just
as good this spring as it did when we finished it last summer."
The rest of Condin Road suffered heavy damage over the winter
and will require extensive repair to put it back to usable shape,
Smith said.
"We're very pleased with
the results the bales had on Condin Road....in fact, weÕve applied
for a permit to use the bales in other roads in Chautauqua County
where problems persist, even in our blacktop roads," Smith
said.
