LOS ALAMITOS : Shredded Tires Will Help Seal City Streets

The City Council has awarded a $379,000 contract to a company that specializes in using shredded rubber tires mixed with asphalt for street repairs.

The council this week hired Manhole Adjusting Contractors of Monterey Park to use the rubber and asphalt mixture to seal streets in the Greenbrook and Highlands neighborhoods.

City Manager Robert C. Dunek said funding will come from Measure M revenues, state grants and gas tax proceeds.

He said the contractor submitted the only bid for the project, probably because mixing shredded rubber tires with asphalt is a new and expensive process.

Jim Wagner, the contractor’s public relations director, said his company has been using the process for the past eight years.

He said that about 9,310 tires will be used for the estimated 95,000 square yards of street surface to be sealed.

It is a way to use discarded tires that otherwise would go into landfills, said City Engineer Jeff R. Thompson.

He said the mixture allows the street surface to absorb traffic and weather changes better than those paved with traditional asphalt.

Thompson said that the project, which will start in August, is expected to be completed within a month.