Innovative Road Construction in India
July 28, 2014
Innovative Road Construction in India
Abstract: A number of innovative pavement projects were constructed in India using both concrete and asphalt mixes. The main objectives for each of the projects were (i) constructing a durable and climate adaptive pavement and (ii) keeping construction and maintenance cost low. Both low and high volume roads were included in the trial constructions. Four case studies using the following pavement types will be discussed:
1) Cell filled concrete pavements: This technology consists of placing a honeycomb like formwork of plastic cells over a compacted base, then filling the cells with various types of cement concrete mixes.
2) Climate adaptive water and oil resistant cement grouted asphalt wearing course: This technology consists of laying an asphalt coated open graded aggregate as a wearing course over a base course, grouting it with a slurry of cement/fine sand/fly-ash/silica-fumes/super-plasticiser and water.
3) Paneled concrete pavements: This technology consists in laying 4” to 7” thick concrete slabs with 2’x2’ to 4’x4’ panel sizes.
4) Rehabilitation of an urban street by RAP and foamed asphalt mixes: A street of Kolkata namely, Prince Anwer Shah Lane, was rehabilitated by using reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) materials with foamed asphalt so that the level of the road surface does not rise further.
Bio: Dr. Braj Bhushan Pandey earned his bachelor, master and doctoral degrees from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, India. Dr. Pandey is an internationally renowned researcher in the area of pavement engineering, contributing in this field throughout the past four decades. He currently serves as the advisor to the Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy Department at the IIT.
Previously, Dr. Pandey served as a professor in the Civil Engineering Department at the IIT, and headed the same department for many years. He has made extensive contributions in the research and development of mechanistic design procedures for flexible and rigid pavements in India. Dr. Pandey has authored many Indian standards and codes related to the design and evaluation of pavements. His innovative ideas for cell filled concrete pavement, cement grouted asphalt wearing course, paneled concrete pavement and rehabilitation of urban road with foamed reclaimed asphalt pavement materials have made him a prominent figure in the Indian pavement construction industry. Dr. Pandey’s research findings have been published in more than 300 national and international journal papers, research reports and newspaper articles.