The State Government has decided to promote and encourage use of green technologies so as to maximise the use of locally available marginal materials in road construction.
Rural Development Department Secretary Bishnupada Sethi said an ambitious target has been set to construct at least 65,000 kilometer of roads in the State in the next 10 years, with prime focus on rural road connectivity.
The State Government is seriously thinking of using locally available materials for construction of roads. It is adopting green technology for construction of about 4,500 km of roads.
By using cold mix technology, roller compacted concrete pavement, paneled concrete, cell filled concrete and iron slag for sub-grade improvement, cement stabilisation for base and sub-base, geo-textile for sub-grade improvement, waste plastics and nanotechnology with waterproofing (Zydex) which are cost effective and environment-friendly, roads are being constructed.
The State Government has already constructed 954 km roads using such technology. Moreover, initiatives have been taken to convert 945.78 km of other roads using eco-friendly green technology. Further, there are plans to use green technology for construction of roads within the forest area, causing minimal damage to flora and fauna.
As a pilot project, roads were constructed in two districts in the State using terrazyme compound. Use of WBM materials have been reduced by 70 per cent. Granular Sub Base (GSB) layer has been eliminated and transportation of material reduced by using local soil, thereby saving on fuel and emissions from vehicles. The advantage of using terrazyme compound is that this material can be used during monsoon season.
The saving per kilometer of road constructed using terrazyme is approximately Rs 1.5 lakh. It also reduces construction time from 12 months to nine months. These roads perform as all-weather roads even without blacktopping.
Rural Development Secretary Sethi, who also holds the Special Relief Commissioner post, said Odisha being a coastal State is vulnerable to natural calamities like cyclones, floods and heavy rainfall every year thus reducing the working period for execution of road project.
By adopting cold mix technology, the project execution job can be expedited in rainy season thereby extending working period and such road can be opened immediately for traffic. Notably, the State Government has completed 810 km length using cold mix technology.
Use of new technology such as terrazyme reduces the construction cost, pollution and saves natural resources.
The Left Wing Extremism (LWE) problem affects many districts where providing good all-weather road is quite challenging due to mountainous terrain and topography.
Secondly, availability of resourceful contractors and machineries is a problem in these areas. But, it has been taken care of by using low cost cement stabilised pavements which results in higher strength.
In areas prone to cyclone and flood, the use of geo-textiles and nanotechnology for construction of the roads has proved beneficial. The roads constructed by using such technologies are least damaged even after submergence by flood water for two three days. These technologies have been proved suitable and cost-effective for construction of approach roads also.