Recycling plastic wastes by mixing them with bitumen can help build stronger, better quality roads at a cheaper cost

24 Jul 2019 Editorial Team

The roadmap

This technology was first used by Tyagraja College of Engineering in 2002 with a pilot inside the college campus. The technology is patented by TCE, Madurai, under the guidance of Dr R Vasudevan. Tata Steel’s Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Company (JUSCO) then got in touch with Prof Vasudevan in 2009, understood the process, reengineered it and implemented it, as per its own conditions and machineries. “We were the first to do it in eastern India, with a vision to replicate it further in other cities,” says Gaurav Anand, Chief Manager, Business Excellence, JUSCO.

Several cities then visited JUSCO to see the successful implementation of this technology. Civic officials from Ranchi, Chas, Giridih and Jamtara visited Jamshedpur in 2017 to learn this technology and replicate it in their respective towns. “We shared all the knowhow, along with the challenges and issues,” says Anand.Over 7.5 km of roads have reportedly been made with plastic at these four places. JUSCO had already proved this technology by being a pioneer of building such roads in Jamshedpur in 2011-12. “We were able to facilitate the construction of plastic roads not only in India but overseas as well,” avers Anand. “While in India, Ranchi, Bokaro, Dhanbad and districts of Chhattisgarh deployed this technology with our help, countries like South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Cyprusalso learnt from us and replicated it.”

To know more on how roads are built using plastic waste, watch out for the August edition of CW.

Can you imagine roads without potholes this monsoon? Indeed, India’s pothole menace has been a never-ending one, with the country reporting an increasing number of deaths year-after-year. Speaking of hazards, another is the modern-day problem of disposing plastic. Here’s a solution to tackle both these perils together: building plastic roads. Such roads not only prevent potholes but are eco-friendly and cheaper to build and maintain.The roadmapThis technology was first used by Tyagraja College of Engineering in 2002 with a pilot inside the college campus. The technology is patented by TCE, Madurai, under the guidance of Dr R Vasudevan. Tata Steel’s Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Company (JUSCO) then got in touch with Prof Vasudevan in 2009, understood the process, reengineered it and implemented it, as per its own conditions and machineries. “We were the first to do it in eastern India, with a vision to replicate it further in other cities,” says Gaurav Anand, Chief Manager, Business Excellence, JUSCO.Several cities then visited JUSCO to see the successful implementation of this technology. Civic officials from Ranchi, Chas, Giridih and Jamtara visited Jamshedpur in 2017 to learn this technology and replicate it in their respective towns. “We shared all the knowhow, along with the challenges and issues,” says Anand.Over 7.5 km of roads have reportedly been made with plastic at these four places. JUSCO had already proved this technology by being a pioneer of building such roads in Jamshedpur in 2011-12. “We were able to facilitate the construction of plastic roads not only in India but overseas as well,” avers Anand. “While in India, Ranchi, Bokaro, Dhanbad and districts of Chhattisgarh deployed this technology with our help, countries like South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Cyprusalso learnt from us and replicated it.”To know more on how roads are built using plastic waste, watch out for the August edition of CW.

Infrastructure Transport

12 Mar 2026

Kavach 4.0 Commissioned on Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Howrah

"Kavach version four has been commissioned on 1,452 route km, covering the high density Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Howrah corridors. The rollout included laying 8,570 km of optical fibre, installation of 1,100 telecom towers, deployment of trackside equipment over 6,776 RKm and establishment of 767 station data centres. Trackside implementation has been taken up on 24,427 RKm covering Golden Quadrilateral, Golden Diagonal and High Density Network sections. The programme aims to strengthen signalling and train protection on key routes.Kavach is an indigenously developed automatic train protecti..

Infrastructure Transport

12 Mar 2026

Railways Advance Kalyan–Murbad Line And Mumbai Capacity Expansion

"Indian Railways is advancing multiple rail infrastructure projects in Maharashtra, including the sanctioned Kalyan–Murbad new line and sizable investments under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project and the Mumbai–Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project. The Kalyan–Murbad 28 km new line has been sanctioned at Rs 8.36 billion (bn) on a 50:50 cost-sharing basis with the Government of Maharashtra and has been declared a Special Railway Project for land acquisition; proposals covering 214 hectares are at various stages of acquisition. Budgetary outlay for projects falling fully or partly in Maharash..

Infrastructure Urban

12 Mar 2026

Parliamentary Panel Flags Funding Gaps in Heavy Industries

"The Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industry (Rajya Sabha) presented its 332nd report on the Demands for Grants 2026-27 of the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI). Figures converted from crore and lakh are expressed in million (mn). The Budget Estimates 2026-27 for the Ministry stand at Rs 79,399 mn against a projected requirement of Rs 94,843.2 mn, a shortfall of about 16 per cent, with revenue at Rs 79,370.8 mn and capital compressed to Rs 28.2 mn from Rs 5,020 mn.The committee flagged recurring BE-to-RE compression and declining revised estimate utilisation, and calle..