A Michigan road project recycled 7,000 scrap tires into rubber-modified asphalt and won a national green construction award, expanding a high-volume end market for tire rubber.

Rubberized Asphalt

A Michigan road project has used more than 7,000 scrap tires in rubber-modified asphalt to pave a 0.8-mile section of Ellsworth Road in Pittsfield Township, later earning national recognition for green construction. The project was carried out in Washtenaw County through a partnership involving the Washtenaw County Road Commission, Michigan Technological University and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.

Cadillac Asphalt paved the section between the bridge over I-94 and Carpenter Road using asphalt containing ground tire rubber. In June 2026, EGLE said the project received the National Asphalt Pavement Association’s 2025 Quality in Construction Award in the Green Category, recognizing its use of recycled tire materials in pavement and its contribution to sustainable infrastructure.

A high-volume outlet for crumb rubber

Rubber-modified asphalt is one of the key infrastructure uses for recycled tire rubber. Ground tire rubber can be incorporated into asphalt mixtures to create road surfaces that may offer durability, cracking resistance, rutting resistance and noise-reduction benefits. For tire recycling markets, road construction can provide a high-volume outlet for crumb rubber and other processed tire-derived materials.

Performance data drives adoption

The involvement of Michigan Technological University indicates the project is also intended to generate performance data, which highway departments and local road commissions often require before specifying recycled tire rubber in pavement projects. EGLE has said Michigan generates more than 10 million scrap tires each year and is working to move them into higher-value applications.

Learn More:

• Crumb Rubberized Asphalt Paving — USA
• Klean Carbon USA — Tire Pyrolysis
• Feasibility Studies
• Turn-Key DBC / EPC

Building Higher-Value End Markets for Scrap Tires

Michigan’s award-winning rubberized asphalt project shows how public infrastructure can become a reliable, high-volume market for recycled tire rubber.

Klean Industries helps recyclers and road agencies develop crumb rubber and rubberized asphalt programs, alongside turn-key tire pyrolysis and recovered carbon black plants.

Developing a crumb rubber or rubberized asphalt supply program?

Contact Klean Industries about rubberized asphalt » GO.