The Estrada R&D&I project, led by Extraco and focused on replacing virgin aggregates with polymer waste in hot-mix asphalt production, has successfully achieved all its objectives after nearly three years of work.

The project confirmed the feasibility and compatibility of incorporating this type of waste into asphalt mixtures, using both the dry method (as aggregate) and the wet method (to modify the bitumen).

Alongside Extraco, Estrada involved the Gestán Group and received support from Cetim and the University of Santiago de Compostela (Integrated Group of Civil Engineering and Geomatics at the Lugo campus). The project was funded by the Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI) (Ref. IDI-20230676).

The project concluded with the construction of a prototype test section on a street in the Chorente industrial park in Allariz. The results were also presented last June at the first edition of the Congress on Innovation in Construction, Building, Infrastructure, and Concessions (IC2), held in Santander (Cantabria).