As per a recent report published by the professional investment information and credit rating agency ICRA, the decline in toll collections was estimated to be more than 40% for the month of March, with the overall annual toll collections for FY-2020 having declined by 2-3%.
Infrastructure funds that have invested heavily in India’s road assets are staring at heavy losses as toll collections across the country slumped amid the nationwide lockdown to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.
The situation has significantly restricted inter- and intra-state traffic movement with the figure for regular traffic on highways having dipped drastically during April. To understand the ground situation, and get an idea of how hard the pandemic had slammed the brakes, toll collection came down from 11 crore vehicles paying in February 2020 to just 1 crore in April.
Even before lockdown toll revenue per kilometer of national highway saw a 7.17% decline in 2019-20 due to the economic slowdown and upward revision in axle load norms, among other reasons.
All these instances have led to reduced revenues for toll management companies in India. Although the economic activity in India is witnessing a gradual revival post easing of restrictions announced by the Government, with the present National toll collection figures using FASTag having bounced back to 88% of pre-Covid level. However, it shall take a long time before the toll management companies can recover fully from the blow dealt to them by this scenario.
Amidst all this, toll management companies are expected to perform their operations in ensuring maintenance of highway infrastructure and keeping our roads safe for daily commute.
The question that arises is that how toll management companies can deliver on their responsibility of upkeep of roads without burning another hole in their pockets at a time when the entities are already faced with funding shortages.
ART proposes Micro Surfacing and Crack Sealing as the effective solutions in place to cater to the evolved demands of Toll management companies for maintenance, repair and preservation of the road stretches under their management.
Used at the right time, Microsurfacing promises to be the most effective, cost saving form of pavement preservation and we’re the right company for the job! The method can be used on pavements suffering from the following conditions:
- Loss of skid resistance
- Oxidation
- Raveling
- Surface permeability
- Rut damage
By implementing a proactive pavement preservation plan that incorporates crack sealing, minor patching and micro-surfacing, and the overall life of the surface can be extended by as much as 4/5 years.
Beyond extending pavement life for a lower cost, here are five other key benefits of micro-surfacing.
Improves Safety
As pavements wear down over time, they become slick, especially around curves. The aggregate mix in micro-surfacing restores surface quality and improves skid resistance helping to dramatically reduce accident rates.
Corrects Rutting Issues
Micro-surfacing can also be used to fill wheel-path ruts. A special rut-fill box is used to fill one rut at a time, up to about two inches in depth. This is a cost-effective alternative to expensive pavement milling and hot mix inlay. (can we give a link of Rut fill blog)
Seals and Reduces Pavement Oxidation
Asphalt oxidation causes major changes to binder properties and is a major contributor to age-related pavement failure such as fatigue cracking. The additional 6 to 9mm surface provided by micro-surfacing adds a new, protective layer to the pavement.
Quick Construction
One hour after the micro-surfacing treatment has been applied, it’s ready for traffic and gives the appearance of an all-new surface.
Installation Anytime
Day or night, micro-surfacing is a process that can be performed on high, medium or low volume roadways without causing extensive construction delays.
Longitudinal joint sealer
The weakest section of the pavement is the longitudinal construction joint between traffic lanes. Micro-surfacing prevents moisture from causing expansion, helping prevent costly milling repairs.
Put simply, there’s no better means of pavement preservation. And there’s no company more ideally suited than ART to help extend the life of your pavement thanks to the high quality materials we use combined with our strict specifications and performance-based design procedures utilizing state-of-the-art equipment. ART’s state of the art emulsion manufacturing plants from Denimotech, including high precision colloid mills enables it to manufacture right formulation with good particle size emulsion. The only company in India which is pioneer in both, manufacturing of emulsions and microsurfacing.
