The Thana-Dharmadam national highway is likely to be thrown open to traffic soon.
According to T.W. Prashanth, Assistant Executive Engineer, PWD National Highway, the highway is being upgraded with cold milling and recycling technology.
“The first phase of work on the Thana-Thazhe Chovva stretch and the Edakkad Pump-Dharmadam Bridge stretch has already been completed. Only smoothing of the road surface is pending,” he said.
Mr. Prashanth said that 80% of the work on the Thana-Dharmadam national highway had already been completed. The cold milling work was completed by January 5. The final layering work on the first stretch from Caltex to Thazhe Chovva was in its final stages.
Work to strengthen the 17-km stretch of the national highway from Thana to Dharmadam Bridge, undertaken at a cost of ₹27.91 crore, started on December 18. The 3.56-km stretch from Thana to Thazhe Chovva Gate and the 6.44-km stretch from Edakkad Pump to Dharmadam Bridge were strengthened using cold milling and recycling technology.
“Roads completed with cold milling technology can last up to five years and are of high quality. The uniqueness of the technology is that the surface is always smooth,” he said.
The method of laying the road was to dig to a depth of 7.5 cm using an existing tarring machine, add the required amount of metal, cement and foam bitumen, and recycle it immediately.
“Eighty-five per cent of the materials have been recycled. Only 15% of the materials are used externally,” he said.
He pointed out that the main advantage of the technology was that environmental impact could be greatly reduced. Energy conservation is ensured as the metal does not require heating. The technology can save up to 30% more bitumen than what is used for macadam tarring. It can also reduce costs by up to 30%. Unlike the usual method, bitumen is added to the metal in the form of a paste. To do this, a small amount of cold water is sprayed on the bitumen at a temperature of 180C to form a paste in the presence of air.
“Since this takes place inside the machine, the efficiency of the bitumen can be increased tenfold. It also allows the same amount of bitumen to reach all parts of the metal,” he said.
