HYDERABAD: Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) will go for micro surfacing road carpeting technology in the city by laying a thin layer of bitumen without adding to the height of existing road or additional weight on the road. Presently, GHMC is laying roads with thick bitumen resulting in dense increase of road surface leading to damages during rains. Micro surfacing contains Polymer Modified Bitumen (PMB) also called as cold emulsion which is commonly used on runways at airports for smooth take off and landing of flights. It is also expected to stand up to the vagaries of wear and tear much more than the usual bitumen carpeting.
On a pilot basis, a thin layer road ranging between 6 mm and 9 mm would be laid from National Academy of Construction (NAC) to mini Charninar edifice near Hitech city next month. Apart from being durable and long lasting, these roads are known to address the surface wheel-rutting problem, oxidation of binder or weathering conditions for atleast five to seven years.The MS technique is economical and also saves time in road repairs and maintenance. The four lane stretch is about 1.4 km, totaling 6 km, it costs Rs 6 lakh per kilometer which comes to around Rs 35 to Rs 40 lakh. Micro surfacing, used throughout in the western countries and is now making inroads into a few Indian cities. In future micro surfacing would be replicated for various flyovers and important roads in the twin cities.
GHMC Chief Engineer (Maintenance), Mohd. Ziauddin told Express that the road will be laid from NAC to mini Charminar structure near Hitech city. Micro surfacing as the name suggests, is a thin layer of cold mix over the road surface (bitumen/concrete) to correct the micro level problems, which may arise at early stages of road operation due to rutting or weathering conditions. Micro surfacing is the application of thin layer (6-9 mm) of cold mixes which, when applied with the help of a specially designed machine gives new life to the existing road surface without increasing the thickness.
The cold mix consists of PMB emulsion, graded aggregate, small stone chips with petroleum additive chemicals. It is applied to existing pavements by a specialised machine being brought from Suryapet,
Materials are continuously measured, and then thoroughly mixed in the micro-surfacing machine’s mixer. Unlike traditional BT roads, the micro-surface road’s lifespan usually exceeds by five to seven years.