C&D News

OPEN ROAD FOR CRUSHERS

Concrete and asphalt crushing contractors have the opportunity to take part in a booming federal highway rebuilding effort, according to Byron Lord of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

Lord says the FHWA's new policy on recycling informs contractors that "the first consideration goes to recycling" and using recycled aggregates. "That’s a big change in the way business has been done," he remarked.

Lord spoke at the annual meeting of the Construction Material Recycling Association (CMRA), Lisle, Ill. The CMRA held its meeting earlier this spring in Las Vegas.

Although engineering considerations will always be reviewed carefully, Lord said the new policy touts the economic viability of secondary aggregates and "eliminates inappropriate restrictions" used by some contractors as a reason to avoid crushed concrete and asphalt.

Lord told attendees to expect steady highway-related business. He noted that vehicle miles per year on the federal highway system increased 100 percent between 1970 and 1995. Additionally, truck commerce on rural roads has increased 550 percent in the past 30 years.

Lord sees concrete crushers playing a vital role in the highway rebuilding task, and says both the FHWA and enlightened contractors are viewing existing pavement "not as something to get out of the way, but as the mines of tomorrow."