From the Editor's Desk

New Materials and Techniques in Highway Construction

Innovation in road construction offers important benefits for all the stakeholders. Some of the innovative
materials and techniques developed in other countries cannot be used in projects in our country as
specifications for the same by any Indian institution are not readily available. There is a factor of
risk involved in their usage. To encourage usage of new materials and techniques on trial basis,in
ongoing road and bridge works, IRC has an Accreditation Committee which accredits the material
and techniques to be used on trial basis. The new materials and techniques are accredited on the basis
of evaluation report including physical and chemical composition, laboratory test reports from any
Govt. approved research laboratory, project details in which the said new material/technique have
been used in India/abroad and cost comparison. The material/technology is accredited for a period of
2 years. The accreditation is issued with an objective that promotor shall strive to establish permanent
base in India and show long term commitment to the goal of innovative infrastructure development in
the country. On the basis of feedback given by the users, the material/techniques are included in IRC
Code of practice and special publications. IRC has accredited so far 177 materials and techniques.
The accreditation is valid for 2 years and needs to be revalidated on basis of performance reports. At
present, the number of accredited materials are 68. The accredited materials fall in the category of soil
stabilizers, warm mix additives for bituminous mixes, Water proofing membrane for bridge decks etc.
List of accredited material is available on IRC Website i.e. www.irc.nic.in
A range of warm mix technologies, which have potential in production of mixes for Dense Bituminous
Macadam (DBM) and Bituminous Concrete (BC), meeting the quality and performance requirements.
This technology is being used in production of bituminous mixes in USA and a number of European
countries, due to production and laying of hot mix at lower temperature upto 30ºC. By adding certain
additives, in the mix production, the coating of the aggregates by bitumen is greatly enhanced at a
lower temperature of mix. To facilitate adoption of this technology, IRC has prepared a document
IRC:SP:101-2014 entitled “Interim Guidelines for Warm Mix Asphalt”.
Soil Stabilizers convert ground/soil of insufficient bearing capacity into soil that is highly suitable for
placing and compacting. Added lime improves the existing soil, while added cement strengthens it. Soil
stabilizers master a wide range of different applications in soil improvement and soil strengthening of
subgrade soil. The technology makes use of local soil, requiring only small quantities of additives or
binding agents to be added. The soil stabilizers claim that these can be used in all types of soil thereby
eliminating need of replacement of in-situ soil. These materials improve the bearing capacity (CBR),
Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS), Plasticity and elastic modulus (stiffness), frost resistance,
impermeability and sensitivity to moisture. The advantages of use of soil stabilizers are
● Reduction in raw material requirement by use of in-situ materials
● Less energy consumed in road construction
● Elimination of construction waste dumping landfills.
IRC has accredited 7 soil stabilizers suppliers who can be approached for soil stabilization solutions.
IRC has also recently published a new document “Guidelines for the Design of Stabilized Pavements”
IRC:SP:89 (Part – II) 2018.
IRC has accredited 5 types of waterproofing membrane for bridge decks. Generally, the water proofing
membrane has a central core of a polymer mat which is protected on both sides by a polymeric asphalt
mix. This is again protected by a plastic film on top and bottom. These membranes are quick to lay on
bridge deck and require a protective coating before opening the bridge to traffic.

4 INDIAN HIGHWAYS│August 2018

 From the Editor's Desk

Economy in cement and steel consumption by adopting high strength concrete and adopting Limit
State Design procedure. IRC has revised the concrete Code in 2012, which is based on the Limit
State Designs’ concept. This Code permits design and production of very high strength concrete
approaching 100 MPa.
IRC has published a set of Guidelines for the use of Waste plastic in hot bituminous mixes (Dry
Process) in wearing courses (IRC:SP:98-2013). Waste plastic has great compatibility with bituminous
mixes. The only aim is the safe disposal of these non-biodegradable wastes polluting the environment.
The failed and damaged bituminous pavements have valuable aggregates and bitumen in them. It is
desirable to extract values out of the waste bituminous pavements by reclaiming and recycling these
materials and using them in construction instead of dumping it in landfills, which will use up scarce
land resources and avoid contamination of the soil. Use of such materials in a construction layer has
been permitted in the revised pavement Design Guidelines (IRC:37-2012).
In France first solar road has been laid in the small village of Tourouvre-au-perche in Normandy,
France. The 1 km road can generate enough electricity to power the street lights. The solar panels have
been covered in a silicon-based resin that allows them to withstand the weight of passing big rigs,
and if the road performs as expected, French Government wants to see solar panels installed across
1,000 kms of French highway. China has opened a 1-kilometer long solar road in Jinan, the capitol of
Shandong province south of Beijing. The two-lane road covers 5,875 square meters and can generate
upto 1 million kilowatt-hours of power annually – enough to power 800 Chinese homes, according to
Xinhua Net. The electricity will be used to run street lights, billboards, surveillance cameras, and toll
collection plazas. It will also be used to heat the road surface to keep it clear of snow. Any excess will
be fed back into the local utility grid. Only experience with solar roads will tell whether they are worth
the investment or just an expensive wasteful exercise.
In order to accelerate construction of roads in the country, there is a need to adopt new and innovative
materials and techniques in the projects which are faster to lay. Such flexibility in adoption of new
materials is available in PPP projects through enabling provisions in manual of specification and
standards.

(Sanjay Kumar Nirmal)

Secretary General

INDIAN HIGHWAYS│August 2018 5