Recycled Asphalt Plant Opens in NYC

Facility is expected to save New York City $5 million per year.


New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Janette Sadik-Khan, Commissioner of the Department of Transportation, have announced the start of a new asphalt plant in the New York City borough of Queens. The facility is the second municipal asphalt plant in New York City.

The new plant will increase New York City’s use of sustainable Recycled Asphalt Pavement (RAP), a goal of the city’s long-term sustainability blueprint, PlaNYC. Once fully operational, the new plant is expected to save the city about $5 million in annual asphalt purchase costs.

“The new facility will allow us to resurface and repair more streets faster, in a more environmentally sound fashion and at a lower cost – at a time when we are looking at all possible options to reduce expenses,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “By producing more recycled asphalt, we’ll avoid two million miles of annual truck trips that are used to carry milled asphalt to landfills – reducing congestion, pollution and wear and tear on our streets.”

The asphalt plant will increase the amount of city-produced asphalt from 50 percent of the asphalt used by the city to about 75 percent. The plant also will improve efficiency in city’s efforts to restore streets and roadways citywide.

The new plant, purchased for $30 million in March, will produce around 250,000 tons of asphalt a year, and will increase the city’s RAP production by 25 percent. In a press conference at the opening, the city also notes that it has the largest municipal production of RAP in the nation.

The city’s original asphalt plant, located in Brooklyn, produces about 500,000 tons of asphalt a year and was purchased in 1981.

The new facility is expected to reach operational capacity over the course of a year.