Texas demolition giant puts its weight behind road material reclamation drive.
Cherry, the Houston-based recycling and demolition company, is making it easier and cheaper for road crews to recycle asphalt roadway material by bringing its fractionating equipment to their job sites. Once in place, the portable processing equipment fractionates asphalt roadway material into Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) for use in hot mix asphalt.
By fractionating RAP at the job site, contractors save time and transportation costs because asphalt material doesn’t need to be trucked to another location for processing. The portable equipment fractionates asphalt material to a guaranteed size—1/2-inch to smaller—that can be immediately used in making hot mix asphalt for new roadways.
According to Wesley Guidry, division manager for Cherry’s portable equipment, fractionated RAP can comprise up to 25 percent of hot mix asphalt. This reduces the amount of virgin materials and oil needed for the finished product. And, it results in a lower finished product price.
“Crews that recycle by using fractionated RAP also are helping preserve the environment by reducing the amount of asphalt material that is dumped in landfills,” Guidry explained.
Cherry’s portable fractionating equipment is capable of producing between 800 to 1,000 tons of RAP per day and can be mobilized to job sites throughout Texas and Louisiana.
According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), using recycled highway materials in pavement construction preserves the natural environment, reduces waste and provides a cost effective material for constructing highways. Specifically, the FHWA promotes the use of RAP because it can have the greatest economical, environmental and engineering impact in pavement recycling.
