Durham Region road project wins OPWA award
A project in Durham Region has been named one of the Ontario Public Works Association’s (OPWA) projects of the year for 2022.
The Newtonville Road Rehabilitation with Recycled Materials Project was given top honours in the OPWA’s Transportation, less than $2 million category.
The project, which is located in the Municipality of Clarington, involved using recycled materials in road construction. The first phase of the project was completed in the fall of 2021 using conventional road rehabilitation methods and materials; the second phase was completed a year later, using recycled materials on an adjacent 3.6-kilometre stretch of the roadway.
Phase two incorporated several blue box materials in the road reconstruction process; reusing about 400 tonnes of recycled glass from blue box collections in the granular base, and approximately six tonnes of recycled plastics from blue box collections, and 4.5 tonnes of polyethylene terephthalate fibres made from recycled plastics in the asphalt.
This pilot project provided an opportunity to explore the reuse of glass processed from blue box collections in the Regional Road program. Using recycled materials from blue box collections could help reduce the volume of aggregate materials mined and trucked in for road construction, while possibly increasing the strength, durability and overall pavement life cycle of the road network.
“The future of Durham Region’s waste management includes looking at using wastes as a resource to improve the circularity of our economy,” said director of waste management, Andrew Evans. “By instruction of Durham Regional Council, staff found a way to incorporate materials from blue box collections into road construction. Receiving the Project of the Year award from OPWA shows the impact that this type of project can have on the future of road construction while finding a new use for recycled materials.”