Program areas at The Ray
Roadside plantings - The Ray landscape lab develops native and perennial roadside plantings, that are not only beautiful, but prevent waterway sedimentation from soil erosion, capture litter and pollution from stormwater runoff, and restore soil health, in order to unlock The capacity of roadside soils to sequester transportation carbon. They also provide habitats for critically important pollinators, like bees and butterflies, whose numbers are experiencing severe decline. Supported litter removal, beautification and wildflower installations on interstate 85 from The georgia-alabama state line to exit 18-lagrange.
Generating clean energy on The right-of-way - The Ray was a finalist for The global warming mitigation project's 2022 keeling curve prize, a global award that recognizes "The best climate solutions The world has to offer." We work with transportation agencies and key stakeholders across The u.s. to help them understand The benefits and feasibility of interstate right-of-way (row) solar, remove barriers to implementation, and guide them through planning, design and implementation of row solar projects.
Tire waste and monitoring - maintained The wheelright tire health monitoring station and The Georgia visitor information center on The interstate 85 northbound right-of-way at The georgia-alabama state line. Aided The traveling public's ability to measure tire health, including tire pressure, tread depth and sidewalls, all to improve tire safety and reduce traffic crashes and associated fatalities. One solution demonstrated on The Ray highway is recycling scrap tire material into rubber-modified-asphalt (rma). In partnership with The u.s. tire manufacturers association, The Ray supported a compilation and publication by The university of Missouri of The nation's best research on The economic, performance and environmental benefits of using ground tire rubber in asphalt. The report concluded that rma is a promising sustainable and circular end-of-life market for scrap tires.
Operating and maintaining infrastructure installations on The 18-mile corridor of interstate 85 from The georgia-alabama state line to exit 18-lagrange, formally designated as The Ray c. anderson memorial highway.
Other program related projects and expenses furthering The organization's exempt purpose.