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The inquiries below represent the most frequent questions ADOT has received regarding the Quiet Pavement Pilot Program. If your inquiry is not on the list, feel free to telephone 602-712-7767, and ask to speak with a noise specialist in EPG.
1. How much is the rubberized asphalt program costing and who is paying for it?
It will cost approximately $34 million to resurface 115 miles of Valley freeways with rubberized asphalt. It will be paid for by using money from other regional projects.
What exactly is rubberized asphalt?
Rubberized asphalt has been used to resurface highways and city streets in Arizona for more than 20 years when pavement surfaces reach their normal life expectancy. In addition to being more durable than regular asphalt, rubberized asphalt helps eliminate a major landfill disposal problem – used tires. The material consists of regular asphalt paving mixed with ground, used tires that would otherwise take up space in landfills. Approximately 1,500 tires per lane are used for every mile of rubberized asphalt paving overlay applied at a depth of about one inch. Rubberized asphalt has the added benefit of being smoother and quieter.
3. How much quieter will the freeways be with the rubberized asphalt overlay?
Actual noise readings have shown an average decrease of about 4 decibels or better, which represents a reduction of up to as much as 50 percent in freeway noise.
4. Will rubberized asphalt wear more quickly than concrete and add to the pollution problem?
A rubberized asphalt overlay has a shorter life span than a concrete overlay. However, its life span is expected to be longer than conventional asphalt. Experts have learned that when the rubberized asphalt begins to deteriorate, it breaks up into pieces that are too large to become airborne and add to the air pollution problem. There is no evidence to indicate that rubberized asphalt will add to air pollution.
5. How many used tires will be recycled for this project?
It is estimated that 1500 old tires are needed for every lane-mile that is resurfaced at a depth of 1-inch with rubberized asphalt. About 2-million used tires are generated annually in Maricopa County alone.
6. Why aren’t you continuing the program through the winter?
Rubberized asphalt cannot be applied during cold weather or very hot weather. The concrete pavement surface needs to be between 85 and 145 degrees Fahrenheit for the material to adhere properly. So rubberized asphalt can only be applied in the Spring and Fall in the Phoenix area – from March 15th to May 31st, and from September 1st to November 15th.
7. How much experience has ADOT had with rubberized asphalt? Is this just a big experiment?
ADOT is considered a pioneer in the use of rubberized asphalt in paving projects. More than 4.2 million tons of rubberized asphalt has been used on Arizona highways since 1988, at a cost of some $225 million. Those projects have resulted in the recycling of about 15 million old tires.
8. Which freeways initially received the rubberized asphalt overlay?
The first areas to receive the “quiet pavement” were;
• Loop 101 from Union Hills Drive to 31st Avenue,
• Loop 101 from 21st Avenue to Tatum Boulevard,
• Loop 101 from Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard to Mountain View Road, and
• SR 51 from about Shea Boulevard to Bell Road.
The entire Loop 101, Loop 202 and SR 51 freeways plus sections of Interstate 10, Interstate 17 and the Loop 202 Red Mountain and Santan freeways also will receive new rubberized asphalt surfaces over the next 2 ½ years.
ADOT has already applied rubberized asphalt to sections of I-17, Loop 101, SR 51 and the US 60 Superstition Freeway. SR51 will receive a rubberized asphalt overlay from I-10 to Shea Boulevard after the current improvement project is completed.
9. Will resurfacing lighter-colored concrete pavement with dark-colored rubberized asphalt add to the Valley’s “heat island” effect?
Experts do not believe that it will add to the heat island effect. Because the rubberized asphalt friction course layer is porous (less dense), it is believed that it will shed heat more quickly than concrete, which tends to retain heat for longer periods of time. The Urban Heat Island Group at Arizona State University are conducting research studies (currently underway) to address this issue.
10. When can I expect the freeway closest to my neighborhood to be resurfaced?
The attached map will give you a general idea of when the Quiet Pavement program will reach your area.
11. Why wasn’t rubberized asphalt applied when the freeways were built? Wouldn’t that have been easier and cheaper?
Until now, barriers – walls and earthen berms – have been the only federally acceptable, and therefore, cost-reimbursable means of reducing freeway traffic noise. After much research, planning and negotiation with the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, in 2003 ADOT began a 3-year, $34-million pilot Quiet Roads program, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG), to surface about 115 miles of Phoenix-area freeways with rubberized asphalt. This national program is expected to set a new standard for freeway noise reduction and the quality of life for people living near freeways in the U.S.
Newly constructed freeway sections in the Valley will now open to traffic with rubberized asphalt overlays.
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