Recycled tires become part of road at NASA White Sands Test Facility

First, the NMSU Civil Engineering Department publishes a study showing rubberized asphalt as a viable option for New Mexico paving, providing a viable use for the estimated 2 million scrap tires created by New Mexico residents annually.

Now the NASA White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) has resurfaced more than 200,000 square yards of facility roads using rubber asphalt for the first time.

"Although we've never done a project like this before, we decided to go with an asphalt rubber chip seal pavement preservation system because it gives us a longer life span for the cost," explained Matt Kenney, facilities engineer and master planner for this project.

In just one week, with only minor disturbance to traffic, the project was complete. "For us this was better than doing an overlay because we didn't need to close off road sections. We could easily do the project with the existing traffic," Kenney said. Roadways were reopened to traffic in two hours. "Getting traffic flowing was a huge thing for us because we didn't want to disturb daily operations."

Other benefits of using this pavement preservation system include better subgrade protection. Kenney noted, "The rubber chip really seals cracks so you don't get any water in the soil underneath."