General

Buh-bye, asphalt! ‘Biological glue’ could help build cheaper and longer-lasting rural roads

A bumpy road ahead sign with a large pothole Photo by Amelia Martin/Shutterstock

Last winter, the CBC ran a story about a damaged road outside of Ottawa that had reached a dead end with repairs. It caught the eye of Tyler Whale, the senior vice president of business development for BioDiffusion Technologies (BDT), which makes a product he believed could help. He connected with Tony Fraser, mayor of North Dundas Townshipand this fall, the road was spruced up with what Whale calls “biological glue,” offering a more affordable long-term solution. 

“Some municipalities care about innovation, they want to try new things, and I put the North Dundas crew firmly into that camp,” Whale said. “It was very generous and good of them to do experimentation like this with us.” 

About 50 kilometres outside Ottawa, Thompson Road was originally gravel, ridden with potholes and bumps largely caused by heavy farming equipment traffic. Locals started a petition to fix it via the once-popular tar-and-chip method, which uses small aggregate material (chips) mixed with hot asphalt. But mayor Fraser wasn’t on board. He told the CBC that the method had fallen out of favour, as time had shown tar and chip doesn’t hold up well to heavy weight.

With BDT’s product, parts of the road are chopped up, mixed with the sticky bio-resin substance, then packed down to create a smoother surface and stronger overall road. The bio-resin is made from agricultural and forestry products, so Whale says it’s more environmentally friendly than asphalt or other methods used to resurface roads. 

“Every road is different and you have to treat every application and objective quite differently as a result,” says Whale. However, he explained that a rural gravel road like Thompson is a great candidate for the technology because it allows for more strength and stabilization that will help the road hold up long-term. “Most urban roads, you don’t dig down to the base anymore,” he says. “Whereas in rural settings, you can raise the profile of the road, you can add vertical or depth to it.” 

In terms of how the technology will fare during winter, Whale explains that because their bio-resin helps stabilize the road, it’s adaptable and strong through various weather conditions. It also repels water, which is important, as drainage is key for road health. “When you’re adding strength to the bottom, you’re going to get a better performing road,” he says. Though he noted that every situation is different. “How long it holds up depends on a variety of things like how much traffic is on that road, the kind of traffic… all of those things have a real impact on how things perform.” 

He noted that BDT’s bio-resin has many applications, some particularly suited to rural settingscottage docks, for example, can be reinforced with it. For now, Whale says he’s looking forward to seeing how their successful North Dundas experiment holds up.

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