Convert the smell of tar into the aroma of mango. That is the intention of the Madrid City Council, which began Operation Asphalt 2024 this Wednesday, a project that will be developed thanks to a scientific project together with the Alfonso X el Sabio University. The intention is to improve the pavement of 323 streets in the 21 districts.
As explained by the Madrid council, the works will affect a total of 930,000 square meters and will involve an investment of 16.4 million euros. Beyond the smell, the objective is to improve the "comfort and safety" of users, as well as reduce the sound of vehicles rolling and air pollution.
This is a pilot initiative that consists of the use of asphalt with flavored additives that change the smell of the compound without altering its technical properties. In this way, neighbors are spared the smell of tar or burnt asphalt, replacing it with a mango smell.
These flavored asphalts do not represent an extra cost for the council and are being developed by the company Pedecasa in collaboration with the Alfonso X el Sabio University and Kao Chemicals Global. The operation and feasibility will be studied to assess its future use, they say.
Along these lines, the improvements will contribute to "preserving the municipal heritage", avoiding deterioration that, if not intervened, would cause the pavement to be completely replaced. This year's campaign began on Jazmín Street and citizens will be able to consult the list of streets through the municipal website.
Likewise, this year, a large part of the 11,000 tons of asphalt that will be used will be composed of more sustainable mixtures than traditional ones, which reduce CO2 emissions, in addition to reducing workers' exposure to smoke, hydrocarbons and odors.
On the other hand, a third of the asphalt surfaces will be made with modified mixtures with recycled rubber powders and with the remains of 60,000 unused tires that can be reused.
