South Jordan pulverizes old asphalt for new streets


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SOUTH JORDAN — After a while, the asphalt on roads starts to break apart. But South Jordan has figured out a way to recycle it and turn it into new roads, all while saving money.

Cities like South Jordan are always ripping up and rebuilding streets, sidewalks and pathways. During the past two years, South Jordan has collected and stored 4,500 cubic yards of used asphalt. Normally hauling away this used asphalt to a recycler would cost $7,450 in fuel, $27,000 in fees and $7,524 in man-hours.

But two years ago, a South Jordan employee suggested recycling the material themselves, and then reusing it. So the city started working with Goodfellow Corp. of Lindon and Komatsu Equipment.

“By recycling and reusing this material, we'll be able to recycle it on site, stockpile it over here where it's readily available,” South Jordan Streets Division manager Jed Bell said.

Project savings:
  • $27,000 in dump fees
  • $7,524 in man-hours
  • $7,450 in fuel savings
  • $25,200 in future material purchasing cost
  • 4.4 tons of CO2 reduction
  • 450 loads
  • Total budget savings is $67,174
Source: South Jordan Streets Division

No longer having to haul to a recycler, or buy fill material from local gravel pits, it’s a win-win for South Jordan.

“We will use the recycled asphalt for several projects we will be working on in the coming months, saving approximately $25,000 in material costs by not having to purchase road base,” said Jason Rasmussen, South Jordan director of Public Works. “By partnering with Goodfellow Crushing and Komatsu, the costs savings allow us to push our budgets farther and allow us to complete projects under budget."

The city is projected to save more than $67,000 over two years.

A backhoe feeds old asphalt and concrete chunks from crumbling roads into the giant rock pulverizing machine called a track-mounted FT42CC that weighs about 120,000 pounds. In just under a minute, the asphalt is recycled and is ready for a brand new project.

The $800,000 machine can process up to 400 tons of material in an hour.

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