POT HOLES ARE FOR EVER ?
With
rainy season in full swing , newspapers / TV channels, are full of reports on
pot holes on Mumbai roads
I
am sure , situation cannot be much different in other cities
Here
are some extracts :
#
Times of India ( July 09 )
A High Court bench asked BMC : How pot holes keep coming back ? Even if
material is expensive , it must be used , as it will sustain for a longer
period
Central
Road Research Institute had suggested ( to BMC ) , nine methods for road repair
. BMC said , two methods failed ; others were either not feasible or expensive
The
Bench has directed the BMC to examine the CRRI's methods at its July 13 meeting
, The matter is posted for July 15 for an up date
#
Mumbai Mirror ( July 08 )
Assistant
Municipal Commissioner , Ramakant Bidar writes a letter to Sanjay Darde ( Chief
Engineer ) , saying :
"
The raw material we are getting for the job ( pot hole repair ) , from the
civic body's Worli plant is sub standard ; also there is no standard operating
procedure ( SOP ) , for filling pot holes "
BMC
has now admitted that the material from its plant is of poor quality and it
does not have an SOP
BMC
Commissioner , Mehta informed the general body that Rs 1638 crore had been
spent on road works this year
#
DNA ( 09 July )
BMC
, on friday , informed the Bombay High Court that it is considering bringing home
, techniques used in Australia for road repair and maintenance.
The
bench directed BMC to file an affidavit on the steps taken to repair roads and
fill up pot holes
#
DNA ( 11 July )
Union
Minister , Shri Nitin Gadkari is going to USA for seeking US help for
modernizing infrastructure
Shri
Gadkari will seek US cooperation in innovative technologies in highway
projects , material , equipment etc
All
of this, when THE SOLUTION is hiding in PLAIN SIGHT ?( read my following email - and blog
- to Shri Gadakari )
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, 21 February 2016
Shri Nitin Gadkari likes to
experiment and take the accompanying risks
He is not afraid to stick out
his neck for fear of it getting chopped off
He is not paralyzed into
inaction by " fear of failure "
He like to tell his officers
, " Forget the history - what is your problem ? "
Then offers solutions such as
:
* Logistic parks around
big cities to decongest roads and reduce pollution
* RFID sensor embedded
vehicles , paying toll amount electronically without stopping / needing humans
* E-rickshaws to be
treated on par with petrol driven rickshaws
* By passing Bharat V
emission standards to directly jump to Bharat VI standards for all vehicles
* Introducing hybrid
model of financing for attracting private participation in Highway construction
* Use of slag cement in
construction of highways ( use of waste by-products of Steel Industry )
Dear Shri Gadkariji :
Allow me to suggest use of
" COLD ASPHALT "
technology for building new roads / filling pot holes
Use of hot asphalt requires a
very narrow temperature range within which it must be spread on roads before
rolling
Any hotter and it will just
stick to the roller . Any colder and it just won't set
It is difficult to maintain
such narrow range ( of temperature ) after asphalt carrying truck travels
hundreds of kilometers - even when that truck has a heating jacket ( consuming
lots of fuel ! )
If solidified asphalt (
usually stored in steel drums ) is used at the construction site , then it
needs to be heated / melted locally ( usually by creating a wood fire ) -
causing pollution and consuming trees !
And hot asphalt would just
not adhere to a wet surface , rendering it useless for use in monsoon - especially
for repair of pot holes
" COLD ASPHALT " technology
overcomes ALL of these problems !
* It consists of mixing
water ( 90 % )
with hot asphalt ( 9 % ) in presence of a
specialty chemical ( 1 % ) ,
in a
very simple Mixing Machine which can be transported anywhere on a trolley
* This liquid mixture
can remain stored in steel drums at ROOM
TEMPERATURE for over ONE YEAR
!
* Drums containing
liquid can be transported and stored at road construction sites and COLD
ASPHALT mixed
with sand
/ aggregates as and when required . No ripping
/ destroying of drums and breaking of solid asphalt
* There is no need for ANY temperature control as mixture
/ aggregate can remain at AMBIENT temperature
* Since Cold Asphalt is
basically water ( 90 % ) , it is ideally
suited for filling wet pot holes or laying on wet roads
* After laying /
spreading , as soon as a heavy roller is driven over Cold Asphalt mixed
aggregate , chemical bond
between water and
asphalt is broken due to heavy pressure and setting process starts ,
causing the layer to
solidify .
Within a matter of MINUTES ,
regular traffic can flow over the road ! or over the filled pot
holes !
* Use of Cold Asphalt
technology results in a HUGE COST SAVING
( remember , it is 90 % water ! )
*
Cold Asphalt roads are much easier to repair , with no pollution , and very little energy consumption
* Using Cold Asphalt technology, 3 machines ( leveller /spreader/roller ) can lay 1 KM road in a day !
* Using Cold Asphalt technology, 3 machines ( leveller /spreader/roller ) can lay 1 KM road in a day !
I have personally seen NATIONAL HIGHWAYS being constructed with Cold
Asphalt technology in France , way back
in 1988 !
You may turn around and ask :
" With these
advantages , how come our PWD / Municipalities have not adopted this
revolutionary technology ? "
My guess :
Because those responsible for
drawing up tender documents , insist on use of Hot Asphalt !
And
you know , why !
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12
July 2016
www.hemenparekh.in / blogs
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