-News Release-
Floyd County was recently recognized with a 2026 Georgia County Excellence Award for its Rubber-Modified Asphalt Initiative. Hosted jointly by the Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) and Georgia Trend magazine, the awards program honors innovative and cost-effective county programs that meet the needs of citizens while enhancing their quality of life. Floyd County was one of six 2026 County Excellence Award recipients honored during ACCG’s Annual Conference at the Savannah Convention Center in Chatham County.
“The Georgia County Excellence Awards is an annual program that recognizes innovative spirit and ingenuity of Georgia’s counties and their leaders,” said Executive Director Dave Wills. “We are grateful to our partners at Georgia Trend for their continued efforts to acknowledge the outstanding work of our local governments.”
Floyd County turned the challenges of managing waste tires and rising road maintenance costs into a more sustainable solution through the Floyd County Rubber-Modified Asphalt Initiative. Building on Georgia’s scrap tire program, the county partnered with local tire companies to turn scrap tires into an innovative dry-mix additive that can be integrated into standard asphalt. The method was proven effective through two successful projects funded by Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division Solid Waste Trust Fund Tire Products Grant Program. The Terhune Road project, a half-mile pilot that enabled the county to test the rubber-modified asphalt, and the Rush Chapel Road project, which was supported by a Special Local Options Sales Tax (SPLOST) and included traffic safety improvements. Together, these projects demonstrate how state and local resources can be leveraged to support infrastructure projects while offering a practical, cost-competitive model that delivers measurable performance benefits.
Learn more about this award-winning project in the upcoming June issue of Georgia Trend magazine.
“It is such an honor for Floyd County to be recognized by ACCG and Trend Magazine for our work using rubber-modified asphalt. What started as a casual conversation with Pirelli Tires, evolved into a grant-funded opportunity to use recycled tires in an asphalt mix,” said Commissioner Allison Watters. “I believe this has tremendous potential to improve roadways while using tires, that would have gone to waste, in a positive way.”
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