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Rubber-modified asphalt grant funding available to Kentucky counties for road projects


Energy and Environment Cabinet Secretary Charles Snavely has announced that Rubber-Modified Asphalt Grant funding will be made available to counties for road projects across the Commonwealth.

Counties can apply for funding for either chip seal or asphalt overlay projects. Chip seal is a pavement surface treatment that combines one or more layers of liquid asphalt with one or more layers of fine aggregate. Asphalt overlay consists of a new layer of asphalt applied over an existing asphalt surface.

Both of these asphalt applications contain rubber from finely ground waste tires. Depending on the application, rubber-modified asphalt can reduce road noise, increase road life and reduce long-term maintenance costs. The use of rubber modified asphalt also advances the cabinet’s goal of promoting the development of Kentucky markets for recycled waste tires and reducing the problem of illegal tire dumping. 

The Cabinet will perform short-term and long-term monitoring to assess the effectiveness of the rubber-modified asphalt projects. As a condition of the grant funding, counties will agree to pay for the application of an equivalent area of conventional asphalt chip seal or overlay to allow for comparison between conventional and rubber-modified asphalt.
 
The money for these projects comes from the Kentucky Waste Tire Trust Fund, which receives $2.00 from every new tire sold in the Commonwealth. In addition to promoting the development of markets for recycled waste tires, the fund also provides monies for waste tire collection events, tire pile clean-ups, and grants for counties to manage waste tires.

Application packets will be emailed to all Kentucky counties. For more information, call or email B. J. Bland at (502) 782-6556 or Byron.Bland@ky.gov. You may also visit the division’s website.

Energy and Environment Cabinet


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