NYC DOT Pilots 50% Recycled Asphalt Mixes for Low-Traffic Streets

NYC DOT truck outside the Hamilton Asphalt Plant in Brooklyn, New York.

Source: NYC DOT

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The New York City Department of Transportation will test new asphalt mixes on low-traffic streets to determine the best way to incorporate recycled road material.

The new asphalt mix is made up of 50% recycled roadway material – 10% higher than current mixes – with the goal of lowering emissions, reducing costs and reducing waste headed to landfills. Should the department decide to use a 50% mix citywide, it could divert up to 200 tons of waste per day from landfills, it says.

To start, NYC DOT paved 6.64 lane miles with the new mix in six locations in Brooklyn, which it will monitor for durability.

The asphalt blend the NYC DOT currently uses contains 40% recycled roadway material – double the nationwide average – and incorporated 256,392 tons of recycled asphalt in its fiscal year 2024 pavement.

“Expanding the use of recycled road material in our asphalt production will not only cut costs, it will also cut emissions. It’s a win for us, a win for New Yorkers, and a win for the planet,” said NYCDOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez.

The use of reclaimed asphalt for building roads continues to climb, according to a recent report from the National Asphalt Pavement Association. Since 2009, the amount of reclaimed asphalt pavement tonnage used in paving has increased 75%. The tonnage between 2021 and 2022 rose 3.7%.

The use of RAP in the 2022 paving season, according to the report, saved the use of 26.9 million barrels of asphalt binder and over 93 million tons of aggregate.