Important junctions in the city are being re-laid with mastic asphalt to prevent water seepage and the resultant damage. The material prevents water from seeping in and breaking the elements that make the road.
The Chennai Corporation has identified ten junctions including those at G.N. Chetty Road, Sterling Road, MGR Salai, Valluvar Kottam and R. K. Mutt Salai for using this technique. It also prevents damage due to oil and diesel spillage and provides for better grip for vehicles.
Work has already commenced at the Adyar junction and is progressing well during nights. Motorists using that junction might have seen one inch-thick material being heated and spread manually on the road in long smooth strips interspersed with blue metal. Some 4,400 sq. m. of road space is being covered at Adyar at a cost of around Rs. 40 lakh.
This special 3040 grade of bitumen costs roughly double that of regular bitumen used in road works. But its lifespan is about 8 years, more than double that of regular BT.
Sources in the civic body said that contractors were waiting for the rains to stop to take up works in other junctions. They will all get over by January-end, explained a source.
This is not the first time that the Corporation is using such material. Spots including on Pallavan Salai near the Muneeswaran temple, Parry’s Corner, Egmore Pantheon Road junction, Flower Bazaar police station and Broadway junction already have mastic asphalt.
“These spots were laid eight years ago and they still have not been damaged,” said a source. The Highways Department too has laid mastic asphalt at almost all junctions on Anna Salai.
