Use of porous pavement and porous concrete
Minneapolis is a partner in the Local Road Research Board. It is also testing new paving materials by participating in the MN Road Study.
The City has completed 5 projects so far with variable degrees of success. Examples include 54 th Street parking bays and Edgewater Park. Minneapolis will continue to partner with the Local Road Research Board on testing new paving materials.
Re-Use of crushed concrete for roadway base
• Minneapolis has reused concrete for aggregate base for roadway construction since 1977.
• Use of clean drain rock to aid stormwater.
Since 1977, this reused concrete has been part of the roadway base for 100's of miles of repaved streets. So far, we have recycled 3 million tons of concrete.
Reconstruction often digs up original materials, like buried streetcar rails and rebar. They're under the roads. Minneapolis recycles this materials through the City's Solid Waste & Recycling Transfer Station.
• Minneapolis has recycled asphalt since 1977. In renovation projects, workers must mill a street to resurface it. They send the millings to asphalt plans for recycling. The City then uses the reconditioned asphalt mix to paving.
The Minneapolis Transportation Maintenance & Repair Division is now using an asphalt recycler. It takes asphalt milling remnants and makes hot patch mix for winter pothole filling.
• Fly ash use, a waste product from coal plant production, is now used in the City's Portland cement mix at 15%. Cement creates carbon dioxide. So, using less cement in the mix reduces its release into the environment.
• The topsoil for replanting boulevards in street work is from composted materials.
Salvaged bricks available to public