FCC

Beyond the Overlay

2025-11-29

As the monsoon fades, India’s highways come alive again—yet many roads still fail too soon.

What will it take to build pavements that last?

“In developed countries, highways are designed for 25 to 30 years; in India, it’s 15 to 20,” observes Muthu Annamalai, Vice-President – Projects, Vertis Infrastructure Trust. “We overlay roads in six to seven years, whereas abroad it happens after 12 to 15. Overloading, poor material choice and weak execution are the main culprits.”

Annamalai is clear: match binder grade with pavement temperature, ensure proper aggregate angularity and stripping value, and monitor quality on-site. “In one of our projects, strict quality control helped us resurface only 20 per cent of the area in 15 years,” he says. “Water is the first enemy of bituminous pavements. When we coated aggregates with waste plastic before bitumen, it created a barrier that stopped moisture damage. Five years on, that national highway stretch remains pothole-free.”

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