‘More cost-effective’: KMC to repair key roads using recycled plastic hot mix
Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will repair several major thoroughfares using recycled plastic hot mix, encouraged by its experience that plastic roads are more resistant to wear and tear, especially during monsoon, and are also more cost-effective than mastic asphalt.
KMC first experimented with the technology in 2022 on an 80-metre stretch of Bakshibagan Road in Behala’s Ward 130, a road prone to waterlogging. “Our aim was to stop water seepage as plastic is water-resistant. Three years later, no potholes have developed,” said an official from the civic body’s Roads department.
Since then, the corporation has used the same plastic hot mix to rejuvenate other stretches, all of which have remained durable despite heavy rain.
These include Raja Ram Mohan Roy Road from BL Saha crossing to Muchipara in Behala, a small section at Pratapgarh in Jadavpur and Santoshpur Avenue.
Before Durga Puja 2023, two high-traffic stretches—Garfa Main Road (about 500 metres) and the western flank of Diamond Harbour Road from Majerhat bridge to Remount Road crossing—were paved with waste plastic-modified hot mix. “Mayor Firhad Hakim was particularly impressed with the Diamond Harbour Road stretch, which has withstood heavy trailer traffic without developing a single pothole,” the official said.
The Roads department has now set a target to thoroughly repair Cossipore Road in the north and both sides of EM Bypass from Ruby Hospital to Baghajatin rail overbridge.
A small section in front of Hyland Park on EM Bypass has already been built with plastic hot mix. “We will start work after the monsoon,” the official added.
Currently, KMC procures plastic granules from its two hot mix plants at Palmer (Beliaghata) and Goragacha (Taratala). Director General (Roads) Sukanta Das said that after the rainy season, the civic body will prepare a comprehensive plan for constructing more plastic roads in Kolkata.
“Work will be taken up
accordingly,” he said.
