The California Integrated Waste Management Board has approved $175,000 in grant money to help pay the start-up difference between using rubberized asphalt concrete and regular concrete.
The grant money will help the pay the differential cost of paving parts of State highway 4 in Contra Costa County with 24,000 tons of RAC by the State Route 4 Bypass Authority. Since July 2006, the Board has awarded $2.15 million in RAC grants to local governmental offices around the state.
According to the CIWMB, studies have shown RAC to be a long-lasting replacement over conventional asphalt that significantly reduces the level of traffic noise in surrounding neighborhoods. A two-inch layer of the material can save up to $20,000 per lane mile compared to a four-inch thick layer of conventional asphalt and uses more than 2,000 waste tires over that distance. Moreover, RAC resists cracking, retains its original color so that road markings are more clearly visible and has the potential to reduce the number and size of illegal waste tire collections in California.