The 14.26 km of roads in the capital developed under the City Road Improvement Project (CRIP) in the first phase seven years ago, along with the “bad stretches” of the second phase, will soon get a mid-life makeover.
The R.R. lamp-Kowdiar, Asan Square-Airport, and the SP Fort-Eenchakkal stretches, developed in 2006-2007 in the first phase; the 900-m stretch from Poonthi Road to KIMS hospital; and the ‘settlements’ in other CRIP corridors will get a “micro surfacing.”
The decision to give the “wearing coat” was taken by Thiruvananthapuram Road Development Company Ltd. (TRDCL), the concessionaire of CRIP, as it was found that these stretches needed profile correction. Equipment is being rushed from Bangalore to carry out the bump-integrator test to find out the wear and tear of these road corridors.
Using a paver, the stretch will be given a 2.5-cm semi-dense bituminous concrete layer. Project officials told The Hindu that the resurfacing work would take a week and would be taken up soon since there was some respite from the rain.
A decision on whether the entire corridor needed a wearing coat or in patches would be taken on the basis of the bump-integrator test. Road markings would be given a fresh coat and the polymer-coated interlocking blocks on the pavements that had suffered colour fading would be replaced by the concessionaire.
In February, it was decided to take up the resurfacing of the 300-m stretch of the six-lane road from Kowdiar junction to Trivandrum Tennis Club as it had become uneven from wear and tear.
But, it was postponed in view of the rain and the civil works in Kowdiar park for the installation of the statue of Swami Vivekananda.
The four-km Kowdiar-R.R. Lamp road, developed in February 2006, and the Chakka-Airport road have stood the test of time, staying relatively pothole-free. This has forced the government to take up similar road development works in other districts and in the capital.
Computerised mix
The main reason for the durability of the road was the perfect bonding made possible by a computerised hot-mix plant and the granular sub-base, the project officials said. The 30-mm granular sub-base, which comprised graded stones, functioned as a drainage layer.
The wet-mix macadam comprised a 20-cm quarry-dust aggregate, mechanically mixed using a digitally controlled machine, and the bituminous macadam above it offered a cosy ride to motorists.
To be taken up by TRDCL under the 15-year maintenance contact, the resurfacing will cost Rs.7.1 crore as per the present estimate of Rs.50 lakh for a km.
