Jesusita Tire Road - KCOY Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo - News

Jesusita Tire Road

SANTA BARBARA- Roads damaged by the  Jesusita are being repaired with used tires. From driving on the roads to supporting them from underneath, crews are using three hundred and fifty tons of shredded, recycled tires to repair roads that were damaged.

"Resources that normally would go to a landfill now become a useful product." according to Joaquin Wright of Kennec, Inc.

Tire derived aggregate, or TDA is not only environmentally friendly, it is also ideal for roads that are prone to landslides, like those in the Jesusita burn area because it provides ten times better drainage than the traditional soil materials it replaces.

"The construction of the road the maintenance on it has been deteriorating over the years due to the underlying soil sloughing off." according to Christian Doolittle of Santa Barbara County Public Works. 

"We're taking poor soil from underneath the road that was failing, we're replacing it with this lightweight material." Wright said.

TDA is also more cost effective than its predecessors.

Once it is laid out, it will be paved over. If all goes well, this won't be the last project of its kind within county lines.

"This could be a viable alternative, especially for emergency repairs, in landslide prone areas, like here in Santa Barbara County." Doolittle said.