The State of Our Roads

The web of roads that cover the inhabited parts of our world connect everything and everybody. They are the circulation network that move people and goods from everywhere to everywhere. From city to city, from country to country, or between houses in the same neighbourhood, we rely on roads to get us where we need to go. They are essential. When they are in good repair, they do their jobs well. When they are not in good repair, these roads cannot convey people and goods efficiently or at all.

Most of the roads in Ontario are built and maintained by the provincial government and the municipalities, with the majority of those being municipal. Ontario has over 365,000 lane-km of municipal roads, ranging from urban expressways to quiet rural gravel roads. While many of these roads can be considered to be in good repair, a growing number of them are not.

Ontario’s roads are in a declining state of repair. According to Ontario’s Financial Accountability Office (FAO), less than 44% of municipal roads are in good repair. Governments have not been able to keep up with deteriorating roads, creating a repair backlog that stands already at over $20 billion, growing by over $500 million every year. This would be bad enough if today’s traffic volumes were to stay constant into the future, but they are not staying constant. The demands that are placed on those roads continue to grow, with traffic loads doubling every 10 years.

If the repair backlog continues to grow at its current pace, a tipping point will be reached where it will become impossible to maintain most of the road network in good repair. The main obstacle to addressing this situation is not a lack of will on the part of municipal leaders and road departments. They are only too aware that the roads they build and maintain are steadily falling apart. Allocating ever-increasing funds to build and repair these roads could fix the situation, but municipalities do not have an unlimited source of revenue. Raising taxes is unpopular and imposing tolls has proven to be politically disastrous. Working withing realistic funding limits, the attention must turn to making those limited funds do more. We must find new, better, and less costly technologies, techniques, and materials. Spend less, get more, reduce the deficit, and clear the backlog.

Introducing Green Roads

BioDiffusion Technologies Inc. (BDT) has developed several unique Green Roads solutions using their 100% environmentally safe binder to stabilize and strengthen both driving surfaces and the base material below using existing surface material, recycled aggregate, reclaimed asphalt, or a combination of one or more of those materials. These natural binder solutions include being used as an additive to replace the traditional, environmentally harmful binders typically used for hard surface stabilization. BDT’s binder is manufactured from 100% renewable bio-resins using a proprietary technology at their Cambridge ON plant. When combined with Recycled Asphalt (RAP), aggregate or recycled concrete, it will create a stabilized base or hard surface for roads or walking surfaces with superior hydrophobic properties.

The manufacturing of Green Roads is Carbon-Neutral and zero-waste

Green Roads is manufactured as a concentrated resin which is mixed with water before application. The cold mixed resin can be easily applied to both RAP and existing or new aggregate using a standard metered rear bar application spray truck. The resin is non-toxic and will not harm adjacent water sources, streams, or wildlife. When properly applied and cured, the resin/aggregate mix creates a stronger base using repurposed material resulting in improved performance and cost savings with a longer life cycle.  When used as an additive Green Roads provides a low carbon, high RAP driving surface solution.

Base Stabilization

Standards and specifications exist for several asphalt (bituminous), fly ash calcium chloride, and other stabilization options. All of these options use materials that are environmentally unfriendly, especially with respect to the health of nearby water sources. Green Roads is non-leaching and works extremely well to stabilize the base and does not contain any harmful materials. The product can be mixed into existing or new aggregates and, after curing, becomes a stable, non-shrinking, hydrophobic layer. In addition, improved compaction is achieved with less moisture than is typically required. The result is a stronger base that requires less maintenance. In some cases, the more stable base can allow for a thinner wearing course, reducing construction costs. The base solution can be used directly on a gravel road or can be overlaid with a conventional surface.

Increased Utilization of Recycled Asphalt (RAP)

Current specifications in Ontario limit the use of RAP in Hot Mix (HMA) and Warm Mix (WMA) Asphalt to 15% (R15) in surface courses and 30% (R30) in binder courses. Green Roads can potentially be used in applications where the RAP content is 50% (R50) or even 100% (R100). By utilizing higher proportions of RAP while at the same time building longer-lasting roads, the amount of virgin materials required for ongoing maintenance can be greatly reduced.

Case Study

The Township of Puslinch, in collaboration with BioDiffusion Technologies Inc (BDT) and Dufferin Construction, a CRH Company has executed a Green Roads surface stabilization project. As part of this project, Dufferin created a variety of driving surfaces commonly used by townships and municipalities in Ontario to demonstrate the economic value, superior performance, and environmental benefits of building roads with Green Roads bio-resin.

Applying the Green Roads R50 solution to a road surface

The project was designed by Dave Hein, a road construction engineer. The construction work was completed by Dufferin Construction, one of Canada’s leading road contractors.

In the first section, two different warm mix asphalt designs combining Green Roads bio-resin with recycled asphalt (RAP) and virgin materials (R50 mixes) were installed in adjacent lanes. Laying and rolling of the asphalt was done conventionally.  The paving process was simple and compaction (>92%) was achieved in the second pass with a 10-ton steel drum roller.

A second section demonstrated a cold applied surface solution. This section involved the installation of 100% RAP (R100) and a precision sprayed application of the Green Roads bio-resin. After preparation of the subgrade, RAP was delivered to the road and graded to an appropriate thickness and profile. The bio-resin was then applied by a standard application truck using a metered spraying process. The RAP and bio-resin where then mixed using a pulverization process, and finally compacted to an appropriate density. Initial observations indicated the creation of a hard driving surface and provided valuable installation data for this cold applied process as BDT continues to develop a sustainable, cost-effective driving solution for low volume roads.

A third section demonstrated the base stabilization potential of Green Roads. This section was designed as a precision-sprayed application of the Green Roads bio-resin combined with the existing material to create a longer lasting surface. The section was initially pulverized, then the Green Roads bio-resin was precision-sprayed by a metered application truck. A second pulverization was used to mix the aggregate and the bio-resin. The surface was then lightly re-graded to ensure proper cross-fall, and surface compaction was completed to determine the maximum density. The final compaction created a superior surface with a density that exceeded traditional base stabilization. When checked after four weeks of public use, the road looked very much as it had immediately after the installation of the trial section and indeed endured through the winter under regular maintenance and show removal protocols.

Conclusion

With a small initial cost to include Green Roads at construction or rehabilitation time, Green Roads extends maintenance intervals, resulting in lower total costs over time. The more stable road also reduces the number of performance “complaints” from the users of the roads.

Because the product works so well with recycled road construction materials, it can help municipalities and townships extend their budgets, build stronger and more resilient roads, and source sustainable solutions to reduce reliance on newly-mined materials such as asphalt or aggregate.

About BioDiffusion

BioDiffusion Technologies Inc. manufactures and supplies superior bio-based binders and sealants that contribute to more resilient and sustainable industrial practices. Easily incorporated into existing processes, their proprietary solutions substantially reduce cost and environmental impact. Their products improve the resilience of roads, concrete, agriculture, mining, construction materials, packaging and other large scale industrial applications while reducing the climate impact from these industries.

For more information about Green Roads, contact BioDiffusion Technologies at +1 519-650-3636, via email at [email protected], or visit their website, https://www.biodiffusion.ca/products/green-roads/.