Byrne & Jones Construction Launches Stabilization Division

Byrne & Jones Construction, one of the largest commercial asphalt paving companies in St. Louis, has launched a new division adding to its diverse collection of servies. The division, called Byrne & Jones Stabilization division will uses additives to improve the quality of the soil before construction. The division also recycles asphalt for use in paved surfaces.

Asphalt is one of the most recycled products in the United States making it a highly sustainable product. Studies show that asphalt recycling avoids increasing greenhouse gas emissions as there is no need to produce new asphalt.

The division is being launched to respond to demand from customers for less expensive ways to repair old pavement.The economic downturn forced many companies to put off necessary improvements to their properties. As companies emerge from the recession, they are looking for cost-effective ways to improve their properties. 

The cost to replace a typical parking lot using (Midwest’s) process can be up to 10 percent less than the conventional removal and replacement of the entire pavement structure. The stabilization division will use machinery to pulverize old asphalt that is then relaid as new pavement.

Joe Schroer, a field materials engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), said the department considered asphalt recycling and reclamation as an alternative for road repairs.

“There are cost benefits of recycling,” he said. “We can treat a deeper section of roadway at the same cost of placing a thinner section of new material.”

MoDOT’s first asphalt reclamation project, a 7-mile stretch of Route 71 south of Maryville, Mo., saved the department more than $500,000. “We see more recycling being done as we look at options to do more with less and come up with longer-term solutions at the same cost,” Schroer said.