Thunder Bay launches greener asphalt pilot project

The City of Thunder Bay is testing out a new, more environmentally friendly type of asphalt, but even if the project proves successful, it will be several years before the new asphalt is used on city streets.

The new asphalt uses lignin, a by-product of the pulp and paper industry, rather than bitumen, city director of engineering and operations Kayla Dixon said.

"This project basically benefits the city in a couple of ways," Dixon said. "Certainly we have a history of the pulp and paper industry in Thunder Bay kind of being a cornerstone of our economy. And we do have a lignin extraction plant in Thunder Bay."

"If this technology is proven, we have the ability to supply that to the industry," she said. "Then, as well, you end up with a greener product."

This week, the city paved a section of the road at the Solid Waste and Recycling Facility with the new asphalt, Dixon said. The facility, she said, provided a great opportunity, due to the different types of traffic that access it.

"You've got some heavy loaded trucks, you've got some residential vehicles as well," she said. "So that's great for the trial."

The performance, Dixon said, will be monitored over "several years," with analysis being done by the University of Laval and Lakehead University.

This is the first time lignin-based asphalt is being tested in Ontario.

The first Canadian trial of the asphalt took place over the summer in Sturgeon County, Alberta; the test was "deemed successful," the City of Thunder Bay said in a media release.

"Hopefully we'll get to perform better-performing asphalt, as well as a greener asphalt," Dixon said. "That would be great."

The Thunder Bay trial is being led by FPInnovations.