GRAPEVINE -- Jarvis Reichenberg loves the sound of steel jaws shattering concrete, but he knows few people share his infatuation.
"We don't start until after 6, because the noise could distract drivers," said Reichenberg, who's in charge of NorthGate Constructors' concrete-crushing plant for the $1 billion DFW Connector project.Just off the westbound frontage road to Texas 114, near the new Texan Trail bridge, the series of machines that Reichenberg's team runs up to 10 hours at a time is one of a handful of crusher sites around Tarrant County.Their task is to reduce demolition debris to a blend of dirt, gravel and chunks of rock no larger than two inches diameter, which then becomes road bed elsewhere on the project.In an effort to be more green and reduce costs, all contractors working on Texas Department of Transportation projects -- including the Connector, Chisholm Trail and North Tarrant Express in Tarrant County -- must recycle at least part of the old stuff they take out as the work progresses, said spokeswoman Veronica Beyer.Turning demolition debris into usable material rather than digging up and transporting new material saves money and puts less diesel exhaust into the air, Beyer said.More than 130,000 tons of concrete pavement were reclaimed at Metroplex transportation projects in 2011, Beyer said.NorthGate's crusher chews up 200 tons of debris per hour and has saved more than $2 million on the Connector, said NorthGate spokeswoman Kristen Schropp.But the ecological impact is also important to a company that promotes environmental stewardship, Schropp said."We have a green efforts page on the dfwconnector.com website," Schropp said. "There are stories from wildlife to hazmat to recycling."More than concreteIt's not just concrete that is being recycled.Recovered rebar is sent in giant rolls to a steel plant, which produces new rebar using 95 percent recycled iron, Schropp said.Bluebonnet Contractors uses the same rebar supplier for the $2.5 billion North Tarrant Express in Northeast Tarrant County, said spokeswoman Lara Kohl."Our project is a bit different than the Connector in that most of our existing pavement is asphalt," she said. "The concrete that we're recycling is coming from the bridges that are being demolished."In addition to becoming road bed -- or the base of the freeways -- concrete debris that Bluebonnet sends to its crushing subcontractors is reconstituted into concrete for other regional road construction projects.Kohl said up to 30 percent of the asphalt being used for new road surfaces on the 13.5-mile stretch of North Tarrant Express is recycled.The Texas Department of Transportation estimates that 5.7 million tons of asphalt pavement were recycled in 2011 at projects throughout the Metroplex, Beyer said.Dust a concernDespite their benefit, concrete crushers aren't often welcomed by folks who live or work nearby. Another reason Reichenberg works at night is that the machines emit clouds of dust.Dust was the major complaint of several dozen neighbors who protested when a company just outside Mansfield applied for a crusher permit in March 2011.The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said the owner of the crusher at 7070 Hudson Cemetery Road met all requirements and approved the permit. A natural resource specialist with the commission assured the residents that there would be no air-quality problems.Terry Evans, 817-390-7620Twitter: @fwstevansHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
