The City of Greater Sudbury isn\u2019t currently looking at this means of asphalt recycling, but is still recycling asphalt using other methods, including in this year\u2019s work on Municipal Road 35<\/p>\n
Hot-in-place asphalt recycling will be hailed as an innovative practice in paving during this year\u2019s Ontario Good Roads Conference<\/a>, from March 29-April 1.<\/p>\n During the conference, Road Surface Recycling and Durham Region are receiving the 2025 Municipal Paving Award for a hot-in-place asphalt recycling project<\/a> totalling 8.8 km.<\/p>\n This is the same company that attempted the same asphalt recycling method in Greater Sudbury in 2023, which the city removed them from for failing to meet specifications<\/a>.<\/p>\n The award, Good Roads Technical Programs and Research manager James Smith said, is \u201cto promote and recognize successful collaboration between municipalities and your hot-mix asphalt producers, looking at excellence and innovation in paving projects.\u201d<\/p>\n Nominees are evaluated in several areas, he said, including specifications (how well the material tests against the specifications set out by the municipality), its visual appearance and workmanship.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were able to consistently produce that mix, and the end result looks fabulous,\u201d Smith said. \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t actually be able to tell it was a hot-in-place recycling versus a new asphalt put down.\u201d<\/p>\n Stripped down to its basics, hot-in-place asphalt recycling consists of a crew grinding up existing road, mixing it with a rejuvenator and placing it back down as freshly recycled surface-layer asphalt.<\/p>\n This process is faster than traditional asphalt paving, cost savings and environmental benefits due to its repurposing of old materials, Smith said.<\/p>\n \u201cI see it being used more by municipalities,” he said. \u201cIt\u2019s always, with a new technology or something being reintroduced, once that first municipality tries it, it might take a couple of years to actually see the benefits for it. \u2026 You\u2019ll start to see that growing adoption.\u201d<\/p>\n A similar means of asphalt recycling has been around since the late 1970s, he said, disappeared for a while and started to return in an improved form in the late 2010s, at which time skyrocketing asphalt prices made the practice more appealing.<\/p>\n It\u2019s good for roads in fair condition with some life left, Smith said, costs 20 to 40 per cent less than traditional asphalt paving and extends the lifespan of a road by 10 to 15 years, whereas a newly constructed road with no recycled materials will last approximately 20 years.<\/p>\n The City of Greater Sudbury\u2019s experience with hot-in-place asphalt recycling is a complicated one.<\/p>\n Road Surface Recycling took on a hot-in-place asphalt recycling project in Greater Sudbury but were removed from the site<\/a> mid-way through an effort on The Kingsway in July 2023.<\/p>\n Both the city\u2019s testing and a third-party report by WSP<\/a> concluded that Road Surface Recycling did not meet city specifications<\/a>.<\/p>\n Road Surface Recycling sued the city for $1 million and the city issued a counterclaim of $4.5 million<\/a>. These cases are ongoing.<\/p>\n \u201cThe city continues to explore efficient and effective approaches to road rehabilitation and road\u2011work delivery,\u201d a city spokesperson told Sudbury.com. \u201cThis includes reviewing evolving industry practices and technologies as part of our long\u2011term asset management planning.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the matters involving Road Surface Recycling remain before the courts, we\u2019re not able to comment on the status of the claim, the counterclaim, or any questions related to the company specifically.\u201d<\/p>\n City Community Infrastructure general manager Antti Vilkko told Sudbury.com that hot-in-place recycling is \u201cnot currently actively being investigated, but it\u2019s certainly something that can be an option to be considered in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n Smith said Road Surface Recycling is the only company in Ontario currently undertaking hot-in-place asphalt recycling projects, and although city staff are declining comment due to ongoing legal action, Sudbury.com published a story in late 2023 highlighting how the city\u2019s procurement policies and procedures might disqualify the company from working with the city again<\/a>.<\/p>\n Vilkko, who joined the city in July 2025<\/a>, said that although this particular means of asphalt recycling is not being actively pursued, they\u2019re still moving forward with asphalt recycling in a different form.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s work on an 8.2-kilometre stretch of Municipal Road 35<\/a>, from Big Nickel Mine Road to Notre Dame Street in Azilda, will include asphalt recycling, he said.<\/p>\n Along stretches that require deeper-surface rehabilitation, the entire roadway will be pulverized and repurposed as underlayment, covered by new granular A (crushed gravel material that contains 3\/4\u201d size stone) and a fresh layer of new asphalt.<\/p>\n In less-damaged areas, asphalt will be milled between 50 mm and 90 mm and fresh asphalt will be placed on top. Anything deeper than 90 mm will be pulverized.<\/p>\n