Bulloch County tests ‘mechanical concrete’ to upgrade busy dirt road on Five Chop Road

BULLOCH COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - Bulloch County is trying a different approach to upgrading one of its many dirt roads — and the work happening now on Five Chop Road looks a little out of the ordinary.

Crews were on site Tuesday laying what’s being described as mechanical concrete, a process county leaders say is designed to create a longer-lasting, lower-maintenance surface for one of the county’s most traveled unpaved roads.

Michael Getz, CEO of Century Road Solutions, said the method aims to eliminate common issues that come with dirt and gravel roads.

“You won’t have a pothole, so it solves that problem, and it will last a hundred years,” Getz said.

Mechanical concrete is presented as a sustainable construction alternative that repurposes old tires. Crews line the road with tire-based material, then use heavy equipment to layer aggregate over a honeycomb-like structure — creating a flat, drivable surface.

The Georgia Environmental Protection Division awarded Bulloch County a $250,000 grant to complete the road transformation.

Getz said the reduced need for future maintenance could mean long-term savings for the county.

“It will save the county money because it’ll have less repairs once we put the road in … we have 15 years of experience — not one road has had any issues where we … had to come back and repair it,” Getz said.

Bulloch County also partnered with Liberty Tire Recycling, a company that collects and manages about 10 million scrap tires across the Southeast.

Company leaders say the project provides a high-volume reuse option for end-of-life tires — keeping them out of landfills.

“It was a great win because it can take a great volume of scrap tires, kind of off the road so to say, and put them in the road,” a Liberty Tire Recycling representative said.

Part of the crew installing the new road surface includes current inmates, county officials said.

Bulloch County Commission Chairman David Bennett said it’s important to involve the men in the project.

“They are not sitting in a prison where an idle mind is the devil’s workshop — they are out here doing something, they’re getting some exercise,” Bennett said.

County officials said the work is expected to be finished next week.