“UTWT is good only for those roads that do not have to bear heavy loads or huge rainwater stagnation,” said Vivek Kharwadkar, PMC additional city engineer (roads).

“We started using the UTWT technology last year onwards to develop some roads in Dahanukar Colony in Kothrud and a few roads in Sahakarnagar. As compared to conventional method of concretising, this technique saves about half the cost. So it is cost-effective,” he said.

“Although the concrete used in this technique has reduced thickness, the roads are durable.”

In the budget for 2009-10, Pune Municipal Commissioner Praveensinh Pardeshi has put emphasis on completing ongoing civic work rather than taking up new projects. Roads, which constitute the major portion of the work, have been allocated about Rs 199 crore. The target is to complete 7 lakh sq m of roads this year.

As per information provided by the PMC, the priority of roadwork has been fixed according to the pavement condition index (PIC). Out of the total allocation, Rs 133.5 crore will go into construction of tarred roads while Rs 26 crore will be used for laying concrete as well as UTWT roads.

The length of the new tarred roads will be 6 km while that of the concrete roads will be 3.5 km. “Apart from the construction of new roads, we are going to use the money from the Rs 133 crore allocation for tarring roads that are nearing completion.”