Summer Maintenance Products
SAFE BIND
SAFE BIND is our powerful gravel road maintenance product. It is a high performance blend of ammonium ligninsulfonate and calcium chloride brine.
Lignin is an organic material that fills voids between cellulose fibers in trees, giving them firmness and rigidity. It literally "glues" a tree together. Ligninsulfonate is a by-product of the paper making process during which lignin is separated from cellulose and reclaimed. Ligninsulfonates have a long history of use on roads as a method of dust control and surface stabilization. Ligninsulfonates have a natural adhesive property when moist.
When applied to dirt roads, the ligninsulfonate solution coats individual road particles with a thin adhesive-like film that binds particles together. It acts as a dispersant, allowing the particles to pack closer together for a stronger surface. Consequently, water uptake by the road bed surface is greatly reduced and the binder is less likely to be washed away by rain.
Safe Bind is approved by the U.S. Forest Service Administration, General Service Administration and local and regional government agencies.
-20th Annual Mountain of Demonstrations – Gunstock Resort Gilford, NH
Advantages of High Performance Blend
Versatility
Dust control and fines retention agent
Base stabilization agent
Powerful Corrosion Inhibitor
Substantially reduces, even stops corrosion damage to ferrous metals.
Greater Cost Reductions
Less blading and grading
Virtually eliminates potholes and wash-boarding
Our performs MgCI2 and CaCI2 brines
Environmentally Friendly
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Greater than 50% reduction in chloride ions introduced into the natural and build environment
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Significantly less corrosive than CaCI2 or MgCI2 brines, less corrosive than water
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Safe to handle
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Binds road together with "nature's own glue"
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Cost competitive with liquid calcium chloride
Resources
Use this Resource Library to learn more about SAFE BIND and its ingredients.
SAFE BIND Application Rates
DPW Utilizes Recycled Shingles
The Exeter, Rhode Island, Department of Public Roads recently applied recycled asphalt shingles (RAS) to the gravel surface of a portion of historic New London Turnpike, as part of a series of experiments to determine the most economical way to preserve the town’s numerous gravel roads.
Click Here to read the article
RIPWA Innovative Gravel Road
Click Here to read the article
Lignin: A Safe Solution For Roads
Click Here to read the article
Lignin & The Environment
Click Here to read the article
How To Establish Proper Crowns
Rants and Raves: Gravel Roads 2
Stump the Instructor: Got Mud?
VTrans Recycled Materials
in Roadway Projects
Wired article on
Cash-Strapped Towns Are Un-Paving Roads
Lignin: A Product With Many Uses
One Formula + Two Great Products
Agricultural Byproducts
Testimonials
We have used this now for three years on our higher volume gravel roads. We have been able to reduce grading them to once in the spring and then again just before winter. The residents have praised us for using it. We apply in the spring by gravity off a bar on the back of our tank truck. We will re-apply in the middle of the summer in the areas that see full sunlight.-Keith Bardwell | Highway Superintendent | Whatley, MA
We have also seen a reduction of frost heaves and mud in the spring but are not sure if that has any bearing on the use of it.
"SAFE BIND is an AWESOME PRODUCT."-Roger Trempe | Road Agent | Dublin, NH
We have had great success with Safe Bind. We have several steep gravel roads in town that we used to have constant washouts and problems with. After the use of Safe Bind those issues went away. Summer of 2019 we introduced RAS into our gravel road program. We have experimented with two ways of using this product we blend the RAS into the road while grading and then apply Safe Bind or we grade the road and then put the RAS out through our spreader trucks before York raking the road. The final step being we spray Safe Bind at the recommended application. I cannot say enough as to how impressed I am with the fines retention of this product. Kevin has been great to deal with and makes himself available for any questions we may have.-Tyler Howe | Director of Public Works | Hancock, NH
“The use of recycled materials in asphalt pavements, primarily reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) and reclaimed asphalt shingles (RAS), conserves raw materials, lowers overall asphalt mixture costs and reduces the stream of material going into landfills, according to the ‘2017 Asphalt Pavement Industry Survey...’ conducted by the National Asphalt Pavement Association... The study also shows that approximately 1.4 million tons of RAS is currently stockpiled in the 50 states – indicating there is a substantial untapped treasure of asphalt in those piles.”-Paul Fournier, New England Construction
-Ken Daniels , Former Public Works Director, Enfield, NH - June 2004“The SAFE BIND® product does a superb job of controlling dust and stabilizing gravel roads. It stays longer when applied to these roads than regular calcium treatments requiring us to perform one or two applications per year rather than four.”
Andy Hodgdon Former Public Works Director, Norwich, VT - July 2011“In previous years we used mag chloride and calcium chloride for fines retention and dust control on our gravel roads. The summer of 2011 will be our third year using SAFE BIND®. We have seen superior results from this product. We find that it outperforms all of the other products we have used, creating a much more durable road surface. It is also environmentally friendly, which our residents appreciate. I highly recommend this product.