The World Bank did a study of 30 countries and the cost in them of building one kilometer of paved, two lane road: the study revealed that the costs for one kilometer of paved road ran from a low of US $ 150,000 to a high of $2 Million. In Illinois, a two-lane, asphalt road costs US $ 7 Million per mile, in Argentina, the same asphalt road for one kilometer costs around $ 200,000.

The enzyme solution cost breaks out to approximately a 40% savings per mile, to which the cost of labor and equipment leasing must be added. In the US, construction of a mile of relatively flat secondary (County) road costs around US $ 250,000 depending on equipment and crew costs. If a chipseal (asphalt emulsion and gravel chips) coat is desired, that adds about US $ 10,000 per mile. Thus, a mile of paved road in the United States , typically runs at the low end $150,000 US per mile up to US $ 2 million per mile, depending of course on which part of the Country you are in, how far you have to transport your crushed rock , and equipment and crew costs. Using a chipseal cover, that cost/mile rises to approx US $ 260,000.

The cost of a mile/kilometer for each particular project must be determined by the contracting agency, not PBS Development Group. We provide the enzyme, the testing and engineering, and the consultation expertise to build a road, but the construction and equipment is provided by the contractor. Admittedly, at a fraction of the cost of a conventional road the enzyme road is superior quality-wise.

It bears repeating that the cost to the client is the responsibility of the contractor, not PBS Development Group, Inc.

Application of the Enzyme:

The soil to be treated by the enzyme needs certain basic elements for the enzyme to work most efficiently (the enzyme is a catalyst that works to bind the fines in soils into a solid bloc).

There must be fines present, and those fines must be present in a form that affords certain plasticity and humidity levels. If those elements are not present, then the soil must be adjusted. This means that other soils (pumice, clay, dolomite, or 2% powdered cement) may need to be trucked in from another point, sometimes very near to the site where the road is, sometimes farther away, for the optimal blend, always ensuring that the road is as hard as possible yet not brittle.

The test used to determine the character of the soil is usually the Proctor test. PBS sends the soil to it’s lab in Florida or Russia for a full soil analysis including fines content, plasticity, humidity retention and compaction. For example sand has no fines, or better said it is all fines and has no other mineral or other elements present to make it stick together, unless water is added. Therefore sand mixed with the enzyme solution and 5% cement usually yields an excellent road.

After the soil is sent to the laboratory where tests are made to determine fines content, humidity retention, compaction and plasticity characteristics, the engineer will deliver a written report and recommendation for the precise ratio of additives (i.e. pumice or cement etc if needed) to be added to the subject soil.

The road is scarified, the scarified soil is arranged in windrows or rows along the road, a water truck with enzyme and water mixed sprays and soaks the windrows; the sprayed windrows are left overnight and then respread and compacted. The next day the road is finished.

The compacter must be 15 tons minimum weight and preferably rubber-tired.

After about one week, the enzyme surface is extremely solid and ready to be treated with an application of chipseal or asphalt or cement, if so desired. Little asphalt and cement are needed, because the road bed is now hardened and does not either undulate with wear, nor is it affected by moisture, use, or temperature variation.

Existing asphalt roads can be recycled and respread, mixed with enzyme and soil, recompacted and used again resulting in an excellent new road surface. A recycler is needed for this work.