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RELATED STORIES: Recycled roads | Downtown Jebel Ali road network taking shape | RTA opens AED1 billion worth of Meydan roads | Six of the best: Top GCC road projects
Abu Dhabi may have the Formula 1 Grand Prix in November, but it’s Sharjah that will be laying rubber on its roads this autumn.
The emirate will become home to the Gulf’s first road made from recycled rubber, with work beginning in a month on a 10km section of test road in the industrial area of Sharjah. If approved by officials, recycled rubber roads may become commonplace across the region.
Rubberised Asphalt road surfaces were pioneered in the US in the 1960s and have since gained popularity for their longevity, better grip and low-noise features. They’re made using old tyres which are cryogenically frozen, pulverised and separated from the steel and fabric parts that are also used in tyre construction.
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The remaining rubber powder, which has the consistency of ground coffee, has hundreds of uses: it can be moulded in to tiles for children’s play areas, equestrian centres and stables, and even as surface material for running tracks and athletic fields.
Bee’ah, a private/ public partnership which is 50 percent owned by the Sharjah government, launched its Tyre Recovery Facility (TRF) in the first quarter of this year. It currently has eight million tyres at its landfill site in Sharjah and 3,500 to 4,000 tyres are delivered every day for recycling – and can process up to three million tyres a year.
It takes around 1000 tyres to provide enough rubber for a single kilometre-lane of road, so Bee’ah’s facility has plenty in stock to keep road authorities in the emirate busy for quite some time.
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FEATURED COMMENT
Could I get the equipments manufacturers contact details for making the rubberised bitumen? Thanks.