June 5, 2007
by Jeff Shafer
WSBT News South Bend, IN

(WSBT) A historic part of Michiana's automotive history is going green with a new facelift. Crews are repaving the test track at the Bosch Proving Grounds where Studebaker once ran its cars.

"The track is a three-mile oval and it's three lanes wide,"Dick Zander with Bosch Corporation.

Some of Indiana’s old tires really could be history.

"We use about one tire for every mixed ton of asphalt that goes down," said Rick Senger of Seneca Petroleum.

When it's all done, the crews say 4,500 old tires from Indiana will be part of the renewed track.

"We need it smooth and we need it with minimal cracks,” Zander said.

That's because some of the world's most recognized automotive brands and even local RV companies run tests on the track.

"We can have as many as a dozen vehicles running at a time," Zander added.

Before, it was Studebaker who started breaking automotive ground in 1926. Museums are preserving Studebaker's now, but some old tires might literally be history in the new asphalt.

Instead of the tires simply tossed away in a landfill, some are headed for a much more useful life, embedded in another layer of this track's long history.

They are paving the way for longer lasting roads using a new version of asphalt with a better formula of ground up tire rubber.

"You're never gonna get 100 percent with no cracks, but it's going to reduce it significantly," Senger said.

And it means going green has a new meaning on this paved oval.

The asphalt companies say the new road material handles hard weather better and even cuts down on road noise.

To see the original news story as it was published, including an informative video, click here.