The Hindu : Front Page : North Chennai to have concrete roads

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Sep 14, 2007
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North Chennai to have concrete roads

Kannal Achuthan

— Photo: R. Ragu

SET FOR CHANGE: Roads with heavy container traffic are to be surfaced with concrete to improve durability.

Chennai: Roads in north Chennai carrying heavy container traffic are to be surfaced with concrete to improve their durability.

Asphalt roads from Chennai Port to Maduravoyal get worn out frequently due to heavy traffic load. The main roads in areas such as Royapuram and Tondiarpet are easily damaged, causing inconvenience to motorists, besides leading to high maintenance costs. The Chennai Corporation has urged consultants to come up with a design for the concrete roads, technically called ‘rigid pavements’. They have high load capacity and good resistance to chemicals.

Asphalt or bitumen roads are called flexible pavements because they bend when there is heavy load.

Asphalt roads may get damaged in four years whereas concrete roads last five or six times longer, a Chennai Corporation official said.

Costs more

Due to higher costs, concrete roads are financially viable only where there is a high traffic volume and load levels, as in cargo handling routes. The Corporation proposes to surface about 10 km of the heavy traffic route with concrete.

The consultants who design the roads would also conduct a traffic volume count and an engineering survey. The design would be in accordance with guidelines of Indian Road Congress and Ministry of Road Transport.

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