The City of Ballarat has for the first time used recycled asphalt from an existing road within the municipality to perform road upgrades at another location.
Existing asphalt pavement from Sturt Street, between Dawson and Grenville streets, was removed by a profiling machine. This asphalt was then reused in the subgrade pavement at the Eureka Street / Warrenheip road roundabout, which is under construction. 'Subgrade' refers to the foundation of the pavement structure.
This reused material comes at no additional cost to the City of Ballarat and saves having to import quarry materials for road construction, which can be costly.
Not all the asphalt removed from Sturt Street has been needed for the roundabout construction. As such, some of the asphalt removed from Sturt Street has been returned to Boral Asphalt Plant to be recycled into new asphalt products.
The City of Ballarat does not often complete asphalt renewal projects as large as the recent Sturt Street works, where the existing asphalt was removed. The large amount of asphalt removed from this location is what allowed City of Ballarat staff to re-use the asphalt at the Eureka Street / Warrenheip road roundabout. As such, the City of Ballarat can only use recycled asphalt directly from existing roads within the municipality when the opportunity arises.
However, the City of Ballarat will consider using recycled asphalt from within the municipality for future road construction projects, where possible. Doing so aligns with goals one and four of the City of Ballarat's Council Plan 2021-2025:
- Goal one - an environmentally sustainable future.
- Goal four - a city that conserves and enhances our natural and built assets.
City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson, said using recycled asphalt material from within the municipality was an innovative way to promote sustainable practices, while also cutting costs.
"The City of Ballarat is seeking to transition towards zero waste and to adopt more sustainable practices in our core business and operations," he said.
"Using recycled asphalt from within the municipality is a great example of innovative ways we are walking those goals out."
