Work on concrete-topped road progressing in Kochi.

The PWD (Roads wing) has begun white topping HMT Junction-Manalimukku Road, aimed at constructing roads that last a generation or more.

The 5-km road that leads from HMT Junction to the medical college will be concrete topped at a total cost of Rs. 17 crore. A concrete sensor paver is being used to ensure uniform thickness and to ensure that the road lasts 25 years or more. The PWD entrusted the work to the Kerala State Construction Corporation (KSCC). 'The aim is to complete the work well before the annual monsoon,' said a senior PWD engineer.

Already work is getting over on one side of a 500-metre-long portion of the road.

'This is the first time in Kerala that such a technology is being tried out. At first, the existing tarred surface is scarified (making shallow cuts on the surface), following which graded concrete is laid atop it. Hard concrete is laid over this, forming the surface. We adhere to norms laid down by the Indian Roads Congress (IRC),' he said.

Sources cited that such white-topped roads are common in Mumbai, Pune and are very durable. To a question on what would be done if cables have to be laid, they said that pipes would be laid across the road every 200 metres. Existing cables and pipelines will be shifted to the side.

The quality of the work was tested frequently, since the technology was new in this region, they said.

THE HINDU