Winnipeg Public Works asks for $300,000 to research recycled concrete

WINNIPEG — Winnipeg is looking for ways to make its concrete last.

The city’s public works committee has asked for $300,000 to be set aside in the council’s budget review to hire an external consultant to research recycled concrete aggregated (RCA) for roadbuilding, states a news release.

“This work is vital to understanding all considerations – costs, environmental impact and resource management issues – of recycling and reusing concrete aggregate materials that are pulled up from Winnipeg streets and sewer and water works each year,” said Chris Lorenc, president of the Manitoba Heavy Construction Association (MHCA), in the release.

The MHCA has been working with the city’s public works department since 2019 on issues surrounding recycled concrete aggregates after changes to specifications were introduced that the industry has had trouble meeting.

“The industry has been frustrated with lack of progress. Few, if any, RCAs have been used in roadbuilding since 2021,” reads the release.

“We support the hiring of a third-party expert on this subject, to move along the necessary work for considering increased use of RCAs in Winnipeg roadbuilding specifications,” said Lorenc.