Millions of plastic bags are giving an old road in South Sioux City, Nebraska, a new look thanks to the expertise of Jamilla Teixeira, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and a $500,000 grant from Nebraska Environmental Trust after South Sioux City applied for funding through NET.
South Sioux City constructed a 4,000-foot stretch of Foundry Road near Siouxland Freedom Park using a cutting-edge asphalt blend made from two million recycled plastic bags. In addition to Foundry Road, the project includes paving an extension of the Al Bengtson Bicycle Trail in the community. This first-of-its-kind road in Nebraska aims to reduce plastic waste while improving road durability, especially under varied weather conditions.
South Sioux City celebrated the paving of Foundry Road with an event at 1801 Veterans Drive at Siouxland Freedom Park June 11.
“This is a pilot project, but it is an excellent opportunity to partner with a Nebraska community and test how the mixture will perform under the extreme weather conditions we have here,” Teixeira said. “Lance Hedquist [South Sioux City City administrator] heard about my collaborations with the First Star Recycling Facility and Nebraska Department of Transportation and contacted me to support the South Sioux City project.”
Experimental study
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