Mumbai: The BMC will be utilising micro surfacing technology to resurface the Eastern Express Highway(EEH) and Western Express Highway (WEH). The method will enhance durability and increase the infrastructure’s life by four to five years, said a civic official. The technology had been used previously for resurfacing the Eastern Freeway. On Tuesday, a tender was invited for a pilot project.
After taking possession from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), the BMC has undertaken repairing work of WEH and EEH. The WEH starts from Bandra and ends at Dahisar Check Naka and EEH starts from Mulund and ends at Sion. The two of the busiest traffic stretches have a length of around 50km.
A survey was conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) of both expressways. Describing the technique, the officials said that the first step is to strip the asphalt layer up to six inches and subsequently a new layer is applied up to eight millimeters deep. The mixture includes binder, cement, emulsion, water, and gravel. It's hard-pressed on roads with the help of sophisticated machines.
The BMC has also resurfaced the Eastern Freeway, which was earlier in a state of disrepair. According to civic officials, micro-surfacing technology is being used for the first time for such works.
This technology doesn’t take much time to do the job and motorists can be allowed to ply within two hours of the work. To avoid disruption to vehicular movement, the BMC works between 12am and 4am, said civic sources.
