Mumbai: BMC to Implement Innovative Technology to Combat Potholes Ahead of Monsoon

Mumbai: Mastic, geopolymer technology will be used to make Mumbai's roads pothole-free before the monsoon. The BMC's roads department is confident that if potholes are plugged using this technology, traffic on that road will resume in two hours.

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Officials were asked to provide information on the number of mastics required at the ward level to plug potholes that fall during pre-monsoon and monsoon. It has come to the administration and a work order will be issued soon, a senior official said. The civic body is likely to spend at least Rs 10 crore in seven zones to plug the potholes.

There are about 2,000 km of roads under the jurisdiction of the BMC in Mumbai. The civic body faces a lot of criticism as these roads are getting a lot of potholes during monsoon. Therefore, the civic body is implementing a policy of cement concretization to make all roads pothole-free. 

With the monsoon just two months away, the civic body is not getting contractors for road works in the city. Only 20 percent of the roads in the east-west suburbs have been completed. Therefore, the civic body will plug potholes even during the monsoon with state-of-the-art technology. Special permission from the Election Commission is not required to plug the potholes. Since there are no mastic supply plants in Mumbai, they will be supplied from 14 plants around Mumbai.

The new technology.

1) The road work on the Eastern Open Expressway has been strengthened by the municipal corporation with 'micro-surfacing' technology. This allows traffic to resume within two hours of the road being completed. In geo-polymer technology, material is prepared at the site of the pit and the pit is filled immediately. 

2) This technology is used for cement roads. Transportation can be started after the material dries up in 2 hours. This technology is beneficial for roads with 'heavy weight' vehicle traffic. It costs Rs 5,000 to fill a 1 square metre pothole.

The entire road will be repaired.

Mumbai roads will be repaired with maximum mastic surface technology, not just potholes, while repairing potholes before the monsoon. The entire road will be repaired in a surface mastic manner, not just filling potholes. Mastic asphalt has a temperature of 180 to 200 degrees Celsius. Therefore, mastic asphalt will be used instead of the failed coldmisk.