Jaipur Leads India in Pothole Repair Technology During Monsoon

By Prof. Prithvi Singh Kandhal, Jaipur, Rajasthan Dear Highway Colleague: Are you still filling the potholes with soil and stone during this monsoon? If so, its a shame for us the highway engineers of India! We can send Chandrayaan to moon but we are using 19th Century technology for repairing potholes during monsoon. In civilized countries, potholes are filled promptly as soon as they appear with readymade cold bituminous mix during rainy season and winter season. Are we competent technically to do the same? The answer is mostly YES. Do we have the desire and necessary WILL to do the same for the sake of our country and motoring public? Unfortunately, the answer is mostly NO. However, there is some light in this utter darkness. There is the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) which is using the latest readymade, generic, cold bituminous patching mix technology during monsoon since 2010. They have done this kind of patch repairs worth more than one crore of rupees with great success. After all, they have to maintain over 6,000 km lane of roads and streets in and around Jaipur. Now, Rajasthan PWD is following JDAs lead and is using this technology all across Rajasthan during 2012 monsoon. [Please see the news which appeared in Dainik Bhaskar daily paper dated 11 July 2012; see the bottom left of the attached page; for those who cannot read Hindi, an English translation is also attached.] What is this generic (unpatented), readymade cold bituminous mix technology? While working in the State of Pennsylvania, USA as Chief Asphalt Engineer, I had the privilege of developing a simple and effective cold bituminous mix for potholes during early 1980s. This mix can be used to fill potholes during the rainy season even when they are wet. No preparation of the pothole is required for this idiot proof mix. In a nationwide US Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) field study, this mix was adjudged as number one in terms of its durability in potholes. About 78% of the patches survived for over 4 years. When introduced in Pennsylvania, USA this mix was unofficially called Kandhal mix by contractors. It has been used in extreme cold and rainy weather in the US for over 30 years. This durable readymade cold mix can be made and stored for 6 months. It can be made by any bituminous mix plant (portable or stationary) in India using local materials. I have also successfully tried it on Jaipur streets and on Jaipur-Agra Road with the help of the students and faculty of Malviya National Institute of Technology in Jaipur and IJM. It also has been tried successfully by the West Bengal PWD and IIT Guwahati.

The nuts and bolts of this unpatented, generic readymade mix, as to how it is made are given in a paper published in the Journal of the Indian Roads Congress, Volume 69-3, 2008. This paper can be accessed at the following link (a copy is also attached for ready reference): http://www.scribd.com/doc/19380290/A-Simple-and-EffectiveMethod-of-Repairing-Potholes-in-India With my voluntary technical assistance, the JDA is using this mix successfully since 2010. They have issued work order worth more than Rupees one crore. Mr. Sapan Mishra, JDA Engineer, can be contacted at er_sapanmishra@yahoo.co.in if you have any questions on its large scale field use in Jaipur. JDA has named it as Kandhal mix in specification/tender/contract documents to differentiate it from other patented readymade mixes such as Shelmac. If your agency does not want to acknowledge or give credit to Prof. Kandhal who developed the mix in the US and is promoting it in India strictly on a volunteer basis, this nomenclature can be changed to Jaipur Mix in the attached specification. Now, as mentioned earlier, the Rajasthan PWD is using this mix during this 2012 monsoon across the whole state. I have trained their highway engineers in producing and laying this mix. I prepared the attached specifications for them, which can also be used by you if you have the WILL. If you read the specifications and IRC paper carefully, you do not need any training, it is all common sense. Cost analyses for producing and laying this mix based on Rajasthan PWD Basic Schedule of Rates is also attached for your information so you know what to expect when calling tenders. Let me make it very clear again that I am just an Indian citizen volunteer sharing this technology in my mother country; I do not have any patent on this mix; I do not have any company which produces or sells this mix; I am not a paid consultant to JDA or Rajasthan PWD. In other words, I do not have any ulterior monetary motive whatsoever. Unfortunately, you will find in your organization (public or private) many people who are very good in finding excuses/negative points for not trying a new material/technology. Some of the possible lame excuses are as follows:

It is too expensive. Cost analyses have shown the cost of repairing potholes with readymade cold mix is about the same as cost of repairing with hot mix because the latter is more labour, material (tack coat), and equipment (roller) intensive. Moreover we cannot use hot mix during rainy season any way. If we consider that potholes get larger and deeper during the three months of monsoon and therefore will require much more hot mix, the cost of prompt repair of potholes with cold mix may be half that with the hot mix. A stitch in time saves nine. Moreover, what is the cost of injuries/fatalities; vehicle repair costs; and user delays resulting from unfilled potholes? It is

very hard to estimate these costs. If we are a civilized country we simply cannot wait and repair potholes after monsoon ends as we have been doing for the last 65 years after independence.

There is no Indian Roads Congress (IRC) or MORTH specification for readymade cold patching mix. This is again a lame excuse. The specifications prepared by me have been adopted by the JDA and Rajasthan PWD. Why cant you? Moreover, many of you are already using patented readymade cold mix made with foreign technology and are paying premium price. This proposed generic mix is less than half the price of those patented mixes. Why are you paying more when this mix can be made by your local contractor? [For your information, I had submitted the draft specification for this generic readymade cold patching mix some two years ago to the Flexible Pavement Committee of the Indian Roads Congress (IRC). I have no idea if and when it will be adopted by IRC. I sincerely hope they adopt soon.]

This mix is also very handy for contractors who are responsible for maintaining national highways, state highways or PMGSY roads during the concession or warranty period. If there are a few potholes there is no need to arrange hot mix; take some bags of this idiotproof mix and a labourer in a car or pickup and get the potholes repaired. So what are you waiting for??? I sincerely hope we still have some dedicated, honest, and enthusiastic mayors/engineers in the metros, PWD, CPWD, MORTH, NHAI, BRO, Army or anywhere in India who really care for their city, state and country. Hopefully, they will produce this mix and use it during monsoon and throughout the year. The public will see the difference and will appreciate prompt and durable repair of potholes. I am ready to assist the government or private agencies on a volunteer basis. With the availability of this mix, there is no excuse to use 19th Century technology for filling potholes on our streets and roads in India. Again, I am attaching the two specifications; cost analyses; IRC paper on this technology; and news on the success of this mix in Jaipur. Do you still have an excuse? Sincerely, Prof. Prithvi Singh Kandhal Jaipur, Rajasthan