INTRO
The Agra – Lucknow Expressway Project is a controlled-access 302 KM, 6-Lane (extendable to 8-lanes) expressway that connects Agra, to the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow. This high speed, access controlled expressway was constructed by the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority as an alternative to the old Agra – Lucknow highway for reduction in traffic in the already congested roads and to reduce pollution and carbon footprint. Touted as the longest expressway in India, this divided 6-lane roadway has significantly reduced the travelling distance between the cities of Agra and Lucknow; cutting down the travel time between the two cities from 6 hours to 3:30 hours. Common vehicle types plying the expressway are cars, trucks and buses since two-wheelers and three-wheelers are not permitted to use most parts of it.
It was completed and inaugurated on 21st November 2016 by the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Akhilesh Yadav. It is widely seen as his dream project and the flagship model of development in the state, being the first of its kind to be completed in the shortest span of time.
THE Problem
AFCONS under mandate from UPEIDA, is responsible for operation and maintenance of Package II and IV section of this roadway. Over the course of time, in various sections of the stretch, Rutting had started to occur. The recurring incidents of rutting, led to creating a significant driving discomfort while posing a serious safety threat to the road users. These issues also posed a future threat of water ingress, which would impact the mix stability.
Major resultant cracking was being observed, particularly in the 2nd and 3rd lane which had propagated to areas outside of the rut as well. If not timely addressed, this would eventually wear down the surface further resulting in potholes.
Analysis
In the September of 2019, we were asked by AFCONS to look into the problem and offer an effective, long-lasting solution against standard treatment procedure of mill and fill with hot-mix, which is not only a high cost method but also time consuming.
After a systematic analysis, we found that coupled with the ruts of 8 to 40mm depth, there was top down cracking. The possible cause for such distress could be heavily loaded vehicles plying on the route, resulting in settlement; other cause can be flow of Binder at High temperature and load as VG 40 is being used which is not suitable for performance at high temperatures in comparison to PMB/ suitable PG grade.
Surface before Treatment (Image Desc.)
THE Proposal
It was therefore proposed by us to opt for a non-conventional method – crack sealing with BE3100CRS followed by rut filling with BE3100RF & a final overlay of micro surfacing with BE3200 as an appropriate treatment to correct the profile, as well as to preserve the pavement.
The infographic below offers a cross-sectional view so as to provide insights into the proposed treatment method.
The recommendations made by us were evaluated, on the basis of which we were given the go ahead to execute the treatment of these areas.
After executing the proposed treatment, we revisit the site a year later to perform the case study on a demo stretch (from Km 116 to Km 118) in order to analyze the results, and here you may have a look for yourself!
The following observations were made in Performance of the stretch after 12 months:
- Smooth and Even Surface
- No Bleeding or Movement of Rut fill Micro Mix
- Zero Delamination
- Adequate stiffness in Rut Fill Micro Mix
- No edge height mismatch which is usually found in Hot Mix Patching
- Hairline Cracking reflection after a year is next to negligible
CONCLUSION
There have been no further signs of distress even after a year and the ailing stretch has now been restored to its maximum efficiency!
Rut-Filling treatment is an out of the box method that helps you minimize wastage of resources and reduce emissions through intelligent use of green technology. We can suitably utilize this treatment method for ruts with depth of up to 40MM.
On the back of such highly promising results, we were awarded various contracts for execution of our proposed solutions of rut filling and micro surfacing with other contractors on the Agra Lucknow Expressway and elsewhere.
In case you are facing any similar issues on your assets, contact us now!! – micro@arthermosets.com
TITLE: Rut Fill Treatment on Agra Lucknow Expressway using High Performance Microsurfacing Mix – A Case Study on Application and Performance after 1 year
LinkedIN Description: Rut-Filling treatment is an out of the box method that helps you minimize wastage of resources and reduce emissions through intelligent use of green technology. ART has been awarded various contracts for execution of our proposed solutions of rut filling and micro surfacing. Click to know more.. (Link.)
