NMMC to use reactive asphalt technology to fill potholes

Unlike hot mix technology, the reactive asphalt mixture dries fast, and can be used even during heavy monsoon downpours

NAVI MUMBAI: The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) won’t be waiting for dry spells to fill up potholes on the road. The civic administration will for the first time extensively use the reactive asphalt technology which can be used even during heavy downpours and dries faster.

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Under the annual comprehensive contract, the administration has outsourced the work of maintenance and upkeep of city roads and footpaths using relatively new technology of reactive asphalting for fixing potholes.

“Last year, this technology was experimented with in some parts of Belapur and the results were satisfactory. The primary benefit of the technology is that there is no need to wait for rainfall to stop filling up the pothole as seen with the conventional asphalting work,” said the executive engineer, NMMC, Arvind Shinde.

The use of reactive asphalting was earlier done on pilot basis in sector 15 of Belapur. With the monsoon officially making its presence felt in the city, the residents have begun complaining about water logging and uneven roads in various parts of the city. “The approach road to newly created sector 50, Nerul is full of potholes, making daily commute a major issue. We have repeatedly complained to concerned civic officials but to no avail,” said a resident Sandeep Sardana.

This year the contractor concerned for each ward has been asked to use the new technology instead of opting for hot mix technology during rainfall. “Based on site visit and inspection about the size of the potholes, the contractor will be using the bag comprising a semi-solid asphalt mixture. The system is very simple - the mixture is to be poured into the potholes and it starts to thicken and eventually conceals the holes completely. There is no need to wait for the rain to stop to undertake the repair work and neither will traffic be disrupted for a long period of time,” said an official from the engineering department.

Conventional modes of road repairs that include concretisation or using pavers blocks and even the hot mix technology will be utilized during the dry spells. “The cold mix reactive asphalting technology is quite expensive as a 25kg bag of the mixture costs approximately ₹500. Therefore, it is to be used only to address potholes during heavy rainfall,” added Shinde.