June 20, 2019:
The roads built with polymerised asphalt last longer. The waterproofing quality ensures that water doesn’t seep down, thus reducing wear and tear.
The Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) is planning to use the technology for laying plastic roads after the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) used it in construction of a road in Gomti Nagar here some time back.
Additional municipal commissioner Amit Kumar said plastic roads are more durable than those made with coal tar.
Kumar said, “We must welcome the new technology. The roads built with polymerised asphalt (plastic-bitmen-gravel mix) last longer. The waterproofing quality ensures that water doesn’t seep down, thus reducing wear & tear. LMC will try to study the impact of this road & will decide about it soon.”
He said, “If there is no cost difference then there is no harm in using advanced technology of plastic waste in construction of roads.” Recently, under a pilot project, a road in Gomti Nagar was constructed by using waste plastic technology.
LDA chief engineer Indushekhar Singh said, “The ecofriendly step is inspired by the success of roads in many foreign countries. In India, too, some civic bodies have started using plastic waste in an environmental-friendly experiment. We also want to use plastic in road construction.”
Singh added: “We have noticed that mixing plastic waste increases durability parameters of roads by 40-50%. Now, the roads would be more durable & will stay in good condition for a longer time. We have used less than 50 micron plastic in the road construction.”
It will be good if other agencies start using this technology.
Chief engineer Smart City Projects SK Jain says, “Mixing shredded plastic with hot gravel & adding it to molten asphalt would guarantee more road strength. Plastic & bitumen bond well because both are petroleum products. This combination enhances the road’s ability to carry weight, as well as its life.”
He said that it’s good that LMC is also open to the idea of constructing of roads with plastic.
Asphalt roads last for three years, but roads with plastic are said to have a life of seven years. The waterproofing makes the roads ‘pothole-proof’ too, he said.
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