West Bengal govt tests viability of white-topped roads

The West Bengal government is testing the viability of white-topped roads, officials said on Thursday. White-topping is a relatively new technology in which bituminous and asphalt roads are covered with concrete which substantially increases their longevity, a senior state official said.

The state government, in consultation with IIT- Kharagpur, has white-topped one kilometre of the town's bypass road to test cost-effectiveness and feasibility of the technology, he said. "Sensors have been embedded on the stretch to study it. Based on the results of the pilot project, several other roads might be taken up after six months," Srikumar Bhattacharya, Chairman of Projects Approval Committee of the state Finance Department said.

The cost of white-topping roads is 25 per cent more than laying bituminous ones but they last for 20 to 25 years as against five years of the latter, he said. Bhattacharya said the technology offers a balance between cost and performance of roads.

White-topping has been done on more than 1,000 km of roads in Maharashtra, Karnataka and other states, he said. Bhattacharya, however, said utility planning needs to be done and soil conditions tested before applying the technology on city roads.

"White-topping has a potential to provide a sustainable solution to improve the conditions of the roads in our country," said Prof Swati Maitra of IIT-Kharagpur..

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