What is a half-mile long and contains 2 million plastic bags?
The answer can be found on the south edge of Freedom Park in South Sioux City as work is being completed on a first-of-its-kind paving project on Foundry Road.
A ribbon cutting was held to mark completing of the road, which was going through its final stage of a unique brand of asphalt that includes recycled plastic bags that are shredded and melted into the asphalt.
About a half-mile of the new asphalt has been laid, running from Veterans Drive west to the John Douangdara Memorial Dog Park. The $800,000 paving project, paid for with the help of a $623,300 grant from the Nebraska Environmental Trust, was designed by JEO Consulting.
The city received assistance from the Nebraska Department of Transportation and researchers from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, who put together the plastic formula using 2 million plastic bags that were donated from several sources, including Goodwill and South Sioux City Community Schools. Some of the asphalt is also being used to pave an extension of the Al Bngston Trail that runs through Siouxland Freedom Park.
More to come in next week’s edition of the Dakota County Star.
