Sustainable, long term road options

Peace Permies.

I am in the process of designing a road for our community in Costa Rica. We re-did it with rocks, but within a few years it was degraded and so I am designing a road that is more solid. I am looking at using Mechanical Concrete style road system, where tires are used without their walls and then fastened together. Does anyone here have any experience with that? Especially on a slope?

Thanks,
Alana

Hi Alana,

Geotile and/or Gabion Road Bed Systems and others like Mechanical Concrete Road Systems are an excellent choice over just...loose stone alone. As has been discoverd, lose stone will not alone endure the mechanical abrasion of even a part time road or drive way...especially on a slope and even more so on certain soil types.

Roman roads had distinct stratum to there designs...often with a raft of logs in wet and boggy areas. The stone was not just 'dumped' on the road path but strategically placed and fitted...and why we still have and use the 3000 plus year old roads even today which are still operation and better than many modern examples made of just concrete or asphalt. Many other culture (Incan and Mayan for example) also used similar methods.

Using an armicher of old recycled tires is a brilliant form of road bed stabilization, though very labor intensive...

Good luck...

j

Earthship road, I love it. As long as someone else is cutting the tires...

Then use the sidewall piece for embankment and ditch stabilization.