The Hindu 07.10.2013
Roads to be relaid with better concrete
M95 grade of concrete to be used to re-lay Anna Salai link road; Traffic will be permitted on the road after 24 hours
The Chennai Corporation is planning to use a higher grade of concrete to combat the problem of traffic restrictions on newly-laid roads.
On Monday, the Corporation will use M95 grade of concrete to re-lay Anna Salai link road in Nandanam. Traffic will be permitted on the road 24 hours after the process of white-topping is completed. The earlier initiative of white-topping Velachery Main Road with the M40 grade of concrete resulted in a traffic diversion for 28 days.
The work on Monday will involve a few masons, a transit mixer to lay a 150-mm-thick, ultra-thin white topping and 20 per cent more funds. The road will be in use for 35 years. The work is part of a series of efforts taken to implement alternative technology. Last year, the Corporation initiated a pilot project to lay cement concrete over black tar roads, and chose Velachery Main Road to experiment with the technology.
While the tar surface of a road can be damaged during monsoons, the layer of white cement topping will help keep the road intact. The new surface, which is expected to reflect more light, may also reduce the demand for power to illuminate roads. The civic body has already identified 1,125 interior roads for topping with concrete by March next year.
