Durable and Economical Technology for Bituminous Surfacing of Rural Roads
Introduction
The Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) has been one of the most successful flagship programmes launched by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2000 for constructing a wide network of rural roads across India. During the last 17 years, a total of 5,29,975 km of PMGSY roads have been constructed connecting villages of over 500 people, which is a commendable task!Two technologies (surface dressing and premix carpet) are specified in India’s ‘Rural Roads Manual’ for bituminous surfacing of rural roads such as those under PMGSY. Either of these two technologies are permitted. Both are also standardized by the Indian Roads Congress (IRC).