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The civic administration is now planning to try out the cold mix technology by next week.
“We have been adopting conventional methods for repairing roads but now its time we go in for some new technology. In the past also we tried different techniques,” said an officer from the road department.
Chief Engineer (roads) DL Shinde said that the BMC has not yet taken a decision on adopting the American technology. “We have asked for trials from the company. By next week, the trials will be conducted on two-three concrete and asphalt roads in the heavy traffic areas to see the effect,” he said.
The UPM Kold Flo technique has synthetic polymer bituminous cold mix as opposed to the hot mix of sand, gravel and asphalt which is currently used on city roads. The cold mix does not require to be heated and it requires very little compaction unlike the present method where rollers are used. Officer on special duty, Avinash Rao, said that the cold mix is an ideal technique for Mumbai roads. “Since the city’s climate is humid and there is a heavy flow of traffic all the time, cold mix is really suitable,” he said.
The cold mix technology is also 20-30 per cent more expensive than the conventional method of repairing roads, however, the decision on whether to adopt the technology will be taken only after trials are conducted.
In August, the BMC also experimented with the ‘Carboncor All Road Surfacing’ technique in Kurla (west) after a South Africa-based firm demonstrated the product. The road department, however, said that the effectiveness of Carboncor technique is still to be studied. “We cannot say how useful the Carboncor technique is at present. We are currently studying its impact on the roads where it was used and after that will decide whether or not to use it on other roads,” an official said.
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