It has been estimated that nearly 30% of the accidents occur due to poor road conditions

- Dr. Abhishek Mittal

Principal Scientist, Flexible Pavement Division, CSIR-CRRI

The Central Government has put the infrastructure development of the country on fast track with the mega programmes under the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP). How will technology play a major role in the time-bound and efficient implementation of these projects?

NIP projects constitute infrastructure sector projects greater than Rs 100 crore. As projects grow in size, scale and ambition, it becomes essential to adopt the world-class tools and cutting-edge technology for proper and efficient planning, execution and management of such projects.

The Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, which monitors infrastructure projects of Rs 150 crore and above, recently reported that as of June 2022, out of the 1,514 infrastructure projects being monitored by it, as many as 713 were delayed, which means close to half of the total projects were delayed. As many as 384 projects reported cost overruns of more than Rs 4.66 lakh crore, which is 22% of the original budgeted cost. All this is taxpayer's money which could have been utilised efficiently by avoiding such delays. The average time overrun in these 713 delayed projects is 42.13 months. This is like double blow for the country: one is cost overrun and second is time overrun. So, the wait for better infrastructure grows long.

Reasons for such delays as reported by various project implementing agencies include delay in land acquisition, delay in obtaining forest and environment clearances, lack of infrastructure support and linkages, delay in tie-up for project financing, finalization of detailed engineering, change in scope, tendering, ordering and equipment supply, and sometimes law and order problems.

However, such delays could be avoided with better planning and management of the projects through the use of latest cutting-edge project management software and practices, which are being used abroad to finish the projects at a much faster pace. Sometimes there could be discrepancies between the initial drawings and the actual site surveys, which results into last minute changes and change in the scope; ultimately leading to delays. All this could be better handled by improving the planning accuracy through the use of latest technologies such as drone-based surveying, 3D laser scanning, and the use of geospatial technologies including GIS. 

Technologies such as BIM, 3D printing, Virtual Reality (VR), Drones, and Blockchain are useful in faster implementation of construction projects. Use of alternate materials such as mass timber and waste plastic is also pushing the construction industry to provide better and sustainable infrastructure solutions.

Mass timber is increasingly replacing traditional construction materials like concrete and steel. Commonly used products include glue-laminated timber (glulam), cross-laminated timber (CLT), and nail-laminated timber (NLT), along with many others. These products can be used on their own or in combination with traditional construction materials such as steel or concrete, to create the superstructure. Advantages include up to 25% reduction in construction time, and use of much less energy.

Waste plastic can be used to construct asphalt roads which have better performance compared to those without waste plastic. The use of waste plastic for road construction not only reduces the burden on our environment, but also improves the life of the pavements. Waste plastic can be used in dry process as well as wet process. However, the IRC guidelines recommend the use of waste plastic through dry process only.

Apart from this, the use of cloud-based platforms helps the different agencies to work seamlessly by collaborating and sharing data efficiently. This allows better integration of planning, documentation and budgeting between the agencies. Once the entire workflow is digitized and information is shared with all the stakeholders, the project coordination and management becomes much efficient and effective.

It is, therefore, need of the hour that the latest tools and cutting-edge technology be implemented and adopted for efficient and time-bound delivery of projects.

With many high profile projects of expressways and corridors coming up in the country, how is quality taking the centre-stage in the execution of these projects?

Quality has to be the integral part of any construction activity. MoRTH Secretary has recently said that there is an urgent need to address the poor quality of highway construction and maintenance in the country. Properly constructed and maintained roads can last for decades, making them worthy investments for governments and private companies. High-quality roads also allow motorists and pedestrians to reach their destinations without any incident. A road constructed with poor quality standards is not only an uneconomical prospect but a safety hazard too. It has been estimated that nearly 30% of the accidents occur due to poor road conditions.

So, efforts have been from the Government side to provide mode emphasis on the quality of road construction. The construction industry has to match pace with the directions of the Government and provide good quality  roads, which would be economical and safe for the users.

What are the major measures from CSIR-CRRI to raise the bar of quality at the Indian roads and highways sector? What is trending in concrete and asphalt roads?

CSIR-Central Road Research Institute, popularly known as CSIR-CRRI, is the premier national research organization for roads, highways, traffic and transport and all other allied aspects. As an apex organization in the road section, CSIR-CRRI has always remained in the forefront by exploring new frontal and emerging areas and providing guidance to the user departments and agencies in roads and highways related aspects.  

As an organization, CSIR-CRRI has been associated with the quality control and quality inspection of many roads throughout the country. It has always been our endeavor to ensure that proper guideline and specifications are followed during each stage of project execution. Due diligence is done for selecting the type of materials, mix design, planning of the construction activities including selection of equipment, and construction process to be adopted. This ensures that the final product, i.e. the pavement is as per the desired standard and is of good quality.

Training is an integral activity of the institute. We provide training to the field engineers through various training programs. During these training programs, the engineers are informed about the quality aspects of road construction and actual case studies are also discussed. It is expected that the engineers would implement the lessons learnt during the training programs in their work and would be more concerned about achieving quality in road construction. 

The latest research in the field of asphalt is on developing bio-binders, use of recycling and Full Depth Reclamation (FDR), use of waste materials in different pavement layers, self-healing concrete, to name a few. The major thrust of the research is to develop/use materials which leads to less material consumption and are less polluting. 

Similarly, in the area of concrete pavements, white topping, short panelled concrete, precast concrete pavement, pervious concrete are few trending areas.

How does sustainability play a major role in the construction of roads and highways?

Before getting to the heart of the matter, let's first understand the global concept of sustainability. Sustainability is the ability to meet our present needs without compromising the ability of next generation to meet theirs. In other words, sustainability is a way to use a resource such that the latter is not depleted or permanently damaged. The sustainability concept integrates the economic, societal and environmental aspects.

As human beings, we consume Earth's resources within a certain time. Though Earth has the capacity to regenerate resources, it is limited to a certain extent. A sustainable pavement is one that achieves its specific engineering goals, while, on a broader scale, (1) meets basic human needs, (2) uses resources effectively, and (3) preserves/restores surrounding ecosystems.

When we speak of the sustainability in the construction of roads and highways, it considers materials, structural design and construction aspects for the pavements. A brief discussion on how sustainability can be achieved in each of these aspects is given below.

• Materials: The energy consumption and emissions generated during the acquisition, processing, and transportation of materials used during the construction impact the overall sustainability of the system. Sustainability in materials can be achieved by reducing the use of virgin materials in favor of various recycled, local and waste materials, adopting better mix design practices, and reducing the impacts of materials production by improving efficiency and reducing emissions. Pavement recycling, use of warm mix additives (WMA), use of locally available materials, use of modified binders are some materials which can lead to sustainability.
• Pavement Structural Design: Sustainability in the structural design phase can be achieved by considering entire pavement life cycle when making key decisions (economic, environmental, social or other) and using innovative and alternate design approaches through better understanding of design parameters and performance. Using improved Mechanistic-Empirical (M-E) pavement design procedures, optimization of pavement constituent layers, incorporating life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) into the design process, and considering site-specific special designs addressing sustainability issues are some design approaches leading to sustainability.
• Construction: The construction phase for the pavements is relatively short, but this does impact other phases when the construction quality is not as desired. A poorly constructed pavement would deteriorate faster and reach the end-of-life sooner than expected, if not maintained properly at the right time. Through reduced fuel consumption, reduced energy usage, reduced GHG emission attributed to construction activities and improved quality of construction, sustainability can be achieved during the construction phase.

So, it is very important that the construction activities are properly planned utilizing sustainable materials and innovative structural design for roads and highways.

What is CRRI doing for the promotion of reusing waste materials in road construction? What are the other sustainable practices need to be promoted in road construction?

CRRI has been undertaking research related to the use of waste and marginal materials in road construction activities. The research outcome of many of the research projects done at CRRI have gone into the IRC specifications. Use of waste plastic in road construction through dry process (IRC:SP:98), use of construction and demolition waste in road sector (IRC:121), use of iron, steel and copper slag in construction of rural roads (IRC:SP:121), use of industrial waste for road embankment and subgrade construction (IRC:SP:132) are some of the codes which have relied on the research outcomes of CRRI research projects.

One of the success stories of the outcome of CRRI research projects is the construction of first steel slag road in the country. The 1.2 km long steel slag road at Hazira port road in Surat has been constructed by substituting 100 % natural aggregates with processed steel slag. Using processed steel slag in all the layers of the road, the construction cost of the road has been reduced by almost 30% compared to the conventional one. Such a road is an excellent example of the concept of ‘Waste to Wealth' and matches well with the United Nations goals for Sustainable Development. So, CRRI has always been at the fore-front of using and implementing waste materials for road construction activities.

What are the future action plans at CRRI on road construction technologies and materials?

CRRI has always focused on working on new technologies and materials which are more sustainable and environment friendly. In future also, our endeavor would be to innovate and develop technologies which resonate with the concept of sustainable development.

CSIR-CRRI is innovating and working in such areas like development of bio-binders for road construction, developing methodology for use of high reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), development of high strength cold mixes, mechanized construction for cold mixes through the use cold mix paver, and use of different waste materials in road construction. CSIR-CRRI is also working on the use of artificial intelligence for road safety applications which is expected to contribute towards making our roads safer. In future also, CSIR-CRRI would continue to contribute towards providing solutions to problems concerning roads and road transportation.

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