Structural rehabilitation of County Road 49 is set to get underway, with the first step being to prepare the foundation the new road will sit on.
The new foundation will be created from the existing concrete road through a process known as “rubblization.” The existing road will be broken up into small pieces, which will be left in place as part of the foundation.
The process will be done in three steps. The first is to use a specialized pavement breaker machine to break up the old concrete road. In step two, the broken up concrete is compacted, using heavy rollers, into a stable layer that behaves similar to crushed stone. Finally in the third step, layers of asphalt are laid atop the foundation to make the new road surface.
This technique was chosen to reduce environmental impacts and to save money during the construction. As the material from the old road is used in the new road, it doesn’t have to be hauled away to a landfill and new foundation material doesn’t have to be hauled in.
Major roadworks are set to begin later this month.
