Coimbatore Corporation has begun exploring the possibility of using readymade bitumen mix to fill potholes, whose various incarnations are across the city.
The suggestion for using the readymade bitumen, which could be used with as much ease as dumping gravel in potholes, came after Mayor P. Rajkumar, Commissioner S. Ganesh and Deputy Commissioner P. Gandhimathi inspected the use of the bitumen mix, called ‘Road Bond’, on Thadagam Road on Tuesday.
Hindustan Colas Limited, a unit of Hindustan Petroleum, has been marketing to various government agencies, the use of the bitumen mix, which has unheated mineral aggregate and emulsified bitumen.
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V. Vijayaraghavan, Regional Business Head – South Zone, says that the Chennai Corporation has taken up the suggestion to use Road Bond to not only fill potholes but also lay roads.
The advantages of using the product are that no heating is required, it has consistent mix quality, has resistance to peel off under traffic, is environment friendly and needs minimum human resource to be spread on the road. He says that after the company mooted the proposal to the Central Government the product is being used in laying rural roads. Another plus is that Road Bond can be used even when the surface is wet and it is drizzling. Commissioner Mr. Ganesh says that the civic body has to study the impact of using the product, its quality, longevity and above all the economics of the process.