Anjaya Anparthi | TNN | Nov 25, 2018, 02:15 IST

Nagpur: The state public works department (PWD) is constructing a cement concrete road using Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology’s (VNIT) prestressed precast concrete pavement (PPCP) technology. The experiment, being conducted for the first time in the country, is on a 300-meter stretch of Inner Ring Road (IRR) at Dabha.
The PWD has completed widening of IRR from Dabha to Mankapur Square. The PWD has also started to concretize the stretch.
PWD chief engineer Ulhas Debadwar told TOI that the work is being done on a “pilot basis”. “Once the 300-meter stretch is completed, we will come to know about the exact cost and duration. After allowing traffic, we will study for shortcomings and other issues. If successful, the model will be implemented in IRR’s second phase or other cement road projects.”
On July 24, TOI had first reported on the technology which was developed by VNIT’s associate professor RS Sonparote and his PhD student Ameen Syed.
Executive engineer AP Mukte said three panels of PPCP were placed on the road on Friday. “Two frames which will prepare six panels at a time have been placed at the spot. All panels will be prepared on these two frames,” he said.
Debadwar was told about the technology by chief secretary Arun Bongirwar who advised PWD to take on VNIT as consultants for the pilot project.
Mukte said the design for the pilot project has been approved by US-based Pravin Mehadi who is considered as an expert in this technology. “Sonparote and Ameen got approval of the design from him,” he said.
IRR cement concrete road project contractor RPS Infraprojects Private Ltd has deployed a special team, led by engineer Pritam Kumar Adak, for executing the project.
Junior engineer RG Kasorde said a 300-meter stretch can be readied within a month using the PPCP technology. “We are casting PPCP panels on the road as this is a pilot project. If panels can be cast in a yard in another place and then brought here, work will be completed faster,” he said, adding that the technology can prove very useful for internal roads as they need not be blocked for a long time.
Indian Road Congress member RK Jain and more than 35 engineers from various states who are participating in the ongoing convention visited the pilot project. “This technology is the future. This technology can be very beneficial also in repairing works,” he wrote in a visitor’s book at the site.
Repairing and underground work can be done easily by removing the panels which are held together with screws.
Under the IRR cement concrete road project costing Rs205 crore, the PWD is concretizing 45 kms — from Hingna-T point to Chhatrapati Square, Dighori, Wathoda, Nara, Mankapur and Dabha.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/66787087.cms
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