Now, rain-proof repair for potholes on Mumbai roads

While PWD is not filling potholes on the Western Express Highway between Bandra and Dahisar with much success, especially during the rains, a Thane-based company claims to have manufactured a mixture that can fill the potholes even when the surface is wet. At present, the PWD has to wait for dry spells to fill the potholes and it often resorts to using paver blocks. PWD experimented with the technique yesterday on a stretch on the WEH, and will check today if it has been successful.

PWD and CCRT officials used the fast-setting mixture on a stretch between Bandra and Dahisar

PWD executive engineer and in-charge of WEH, SS Deshmukh said, "We want to address the pothole issue on the WEH at the earliest. CCRT Private Limited has given us a demonstration on the WEH stretch near the domestic airport flyover. The material used is known as CCM™-POTCRETE."

The PWD authorities also told mid-day that this new technique can work in a 30-minute dry spell. It can also work when the surface is wet.

On Thursday evening, a PWD team and officials from the company were working on a 50 m stretch on the southbound road near the domestic airport flyover. According to experts, the mixture is scattered over the potholes or the uneven surface and it dries up in two hours after which vehicles can pass over it. The mixture is like a fast setting cement. Officials also claimed that such technology can also be used to make airstrips on urgent basis, incase an airstrip gets damaged. The fast setting cement can also take on heavy vehicles. The cement is set in half an hour and strengthens in one to two hours.

"Due to rainfall there is water beneath the paver blocks which were used to fill the potholes and this is making our job more difficult. We are finding using the different technique to fill the potholes on the stretch very difficult due to the rain, but if we succeed on this stretch we will be able to fill the potholes at other places too," said one of the engineers.