Commonwealth of Kentucky Guardrail

Long before sustainability and recycling gained popularity the Commonwealth of Kentucky had a program that represents the ultimate in sustainability recycling and reuse. After 30 to 40 years of service, guardrail showing signs of wear is taken down and out of service. This rail is normally displaying some surface rust staining but the original galvanized coating has preserved the integrity of the base metal from corrosion.

Instead of ending up is the scrap heap it is taken to the KY Department of Corrections workshops. There it is sorted, straightened, re-punched if necessary to fit new mounting hole configurations and cleaned. Then it is sent to the galvanizer to be re-galvanized. With no raw material costs the refurbished guardrail not only saves the environment, but it also saves the taxpayers of Kentucky millions of dollars. Both the guardrail and the supporting posts are processed in this manner. One of the DOT Engineers commented on how easy it is to specify, efficient it is to complete, and cost effective the program has been.