We already know that beans, beans are good for your heart — little did we know they could also be good for paved roads.
Grey County has embarked on another unique test on its county roads.
A one-kilometre section of Grey Road 3 south of Jackson has been sealed with oil made from 36.18 bushels of soybeans.
Grey County Transportation Director Gary Shaw says the goal is to rejuvenate the asphalt, which naturally oxidizes and wears out as it ages.
Shaw says the process could be compared to a person moisturizing their skin to keep it from drying and cracking.
Shaw says it’s ideal for sealing small cracks and hopefully preventing them from getting bigger, and possibly extending the life of a stretch of road by three to five years.
He heard about the idea from Chatsworth Deputy Mayor Bob Pringle, who brought Shaw an article about soybean oil being used on roads in a Western Canadian city.
Shaw thought it might be worth a try here, but only if he could be sure it wouldn’t affect the food chain.
He eventually learned there was a surplus of beans and oil and farmers were interested in finding a market for the byproduct.
A short section of Grey Road 3 was chosen because it’s not too many years old and is just beginning to show some wear and tear that can possibly be remedied by this solution.
The Ministry of Transportation has taken an interest in this trial, the latest initiative for a County that pioneered the concept of recycling old tires for the purpose of paving local roads.
Three MTO staff members were present last week when the section of road was sealed, and Shaw says the Ministry will be monitoring the trial’s success.
And if the trial is successful, it could mean a substantial savings for Grey County.
Shaw says it costs the county 80 thousand dollars to resurface one kilometre of pavement, but the same stretch of road can be oiled for only 12 thousand.
