Highways in Canada

[sa230e]

Originally Posted by Symz

Does anyone who knows more about construction and highways know what it is they could be doing with these foam blocks for the WE Parkway? I can't figure it out.

http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2012/08/31/windsor-essex-parkway-one-year-later/

Commuters through the site probably noticed a few weeks ago workers were burying what appeared to be giant Styrofoam blocks in the roadbed.

“It’s not Styrofoam,” Hatchell says. “It’s ‘light-weight fill.’” The blocks, made of a structured polystyrene, are commonly used in areas of soft subsoils where the added weight of deep crushed stone could eventually destabilize the subsurface. The consortium doesn’t want to have to replace asphalt or concrete surfaces sooner than necessary. The blocks, which are only pressure-fitted together, are also cheaper than stone fill.