Rubber Sidewalks Prevent Keg Damage, Good for Environment
August 19th, 2008
A new sidewalk project in an Iowa college town is aimed at putting a little bounce into beer kegs instead of dings in the sidewalk.
The city of Ames is installing a rubber sidewalk at a spot near the Iowa State University campus where beer distributors unload hundreds of kegs from trucks for area bars.
The heavy kegs have been cracking the concrete pavement. So officials have decided to install sidewalk pavers made by a California company using recycled tires.
The city’s streets supervisor tested the project by taking a sledge hammer to it. The new sidewalk didn’t even dent.
In addition to bouncing beer kegs, the project offers an environmental plus. The sidewalk uses about 675 tires that would otherwise end up in a landfill.
