Front Page   

Concrete to replace bitumen roads

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Stung by the public outcry about the poor condition of roads and surfacing of potholes on bituminised roads across the State and in view of the rising cost to the exchequer, the government has decided to replace the conventional bitumen-based roads with concrete roads in stages.

As part of the initiative, the State Cabinet has decided to seek financial support of Rs.1,700 crore from the Union government to concretise the roads. Official sources said the State was gradually moving towards adopting concrete roads to replace the conventional bitumen roads.

The decision to seek financial assistance has been taken in the wake of a report submitted by a high-level team of the Public Works Department that visited Bangalore to study the feasibility of concrete roads.

The State government had already approached the State Planning Board for assistance of Rs.500 crore to concretise roads. As per the proposal, the new roads being developed in the State would be concretised and roads that were not motorable would be dug up by four inches and would get a concrete layer of six inches. In the first phase, the move of the Public Works Department is to concretise 55 km of roads. Official sources said the concrete roads will be laid on an experimental basis on a small stretch in the State. Official sources said the main reason for potholes on bitumen roads was water seepage.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Taking stock
Litigants get relief in minutes at Lok Adalat
Panchayat polls in four districts on December 31
Firings are only in self-defence, says BSF
CPI(M) stages road roko
Krishnagiri to get printing cluster
Concrete to replace bitumen roads
Tirupur Corporation plans new project for drinking water
M.G. Road stretch closed till Monday

Copyright © 2010, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu