Virginia’s I-81 Recycling Project Wins National Award

The Virginia Department of Transportation announced Wednesday it has received national recognition for using pavement recycling methods to rebuild aging roadways, saving significant time and money.VDOT and its prime contractor, Lanford Brothers Co. of Roanoke, rebuilt a section of Interstate 81 in Augusta County by recycling existing road material back into the new pavement structure. This paving method reduced construction time by about two-thirds and saved millions of dollars, earning VDOT a national award by the asphalt recycling industry.

“Using these pavement recycling methods has the potential to revolutionize how we rehabilitate our aging roads, both in Virginia and nationally,” Gov. Bob McDonnell said in a statement. “We expect to continue using these processes, where appropriate, to save money and materials as we rebuild older roads throughout the commonwealth.”

VDOT rehabilitated a 3.7-mile southbound section of I-81 near Staunton in 2011 using three processes known in the paving industry as “cold in-place recycling,” “cold central-plant recycling,” and “full-depth reclamation.”

Later this year, VDOT plans to use cold in-place recycling to rebuild a section of U.S. 17 in Isle of Wight County.

More information is available from VDOT at 1.usa.gov/VDOT1108.