Manchester Republicans Want to Rubberize Town Roads

Republican candidates for the Manchester Board of Directors want the town to look into blending asphalt with rubber from tires that were recycled locally to improve the town's roads, cut costs and reduce noise pollution in town. 

“According to the World Health Organization, one heart attack in 50 is attributed to regular exposure to traffic noise. We want to make life better—and longer, for people in Manchester," Mark Tweedie, a Republican member of the Board of Directors who is running for re-election this year, said in a statement. Tweedie said he started studying the concept earlier this year, and believes that noise pollution is not just a nuisance but a legit health risk to Manchester residents. 

If the town were to adopt the strategy of mixing rubber "crumbs" with the bitumen used to make asphalt, the town would seek to use recycled tires from the town's landfill. 

This technique was started in Arizona years ago, Republicans said, but has been gaining in popularity in other states and cities throughout the country. 

Republicans cited studies done by Clemson University's Asphalt Rubber Technology Service that show that "rubberized roads" have improved "skid tests," drain from water quicker due to the more porous nature of the roads, and deteriorate slower and require less petroleum-based materials to construct, which can also lead to savings in construction costs. 

Republicans said they would like to develop a pilot program to give town officials and personnel time to experiment with the technique and see how it works. 

Mike Pohl, chairman of the Manchester Democratic Town Committee, said Friday that he was not familiar with the technique, but that if it was a good idea then he was all for members of the Board of Directors from both parties further exploring it. 

"Bottom line is if there's ideas out there on how to make things better, the Democratic leadership on the board of directors has to been used to investigating and implementing anything that will make life better for the citizens of Manchester," Pohl said. "...If there's data out there that says it's effective and it's not a risk that we take and something that we lose money on, then certainly anything that is going to better this town is an absolutely wonderful thing to do."