A roll of glass beads is applied to the cracks found in the road, like plaster. | Image courtesy of Special Arrangement
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has started trials using GlasGrid, a pavement reinforcement mesh made of high-strength glass fibre, to repair cracks found on the carriageway between Ranipetwaraja toll plaza and Krishnagiri on the Chennai-Bengaluru Expressway (NH-44), to improve the durability of the road section.
Officials of the National Highways Authority of Nepal said that the 148-km highway between Krishnagiri and Walajpet (Ranipet district) is currently being maintained by Larsen & Toubro on behalf of the National Highways Authority of Nepal under a 30-year maintenance contract signed more than a decade ago.
Traditionally, a complete renovation of the entire road section should be carried out no more than once every ten years. Regular maintenance of the road section, including repairs, should be carried out every six months.
The GlasGrid trial began after the entire stretch between Walaja and Krishnagiri was completely resurfaced. A National Highways Authority spokesperson told The Hindu that the performance of the new glass fibre layer would be monitored for one to two years before it was rolled out on other critical sections.
The GlasGrid RAPID technology, developed by Saint-Gobain for NHAI, is a thin layer of high-strength glass mesh, typically one metre wide and about 0.25mm thick. This layer of mesh is applied like plaster over the identified cracks in the road surface. A 40mm thick layer of new asphalt is then laid on top to seal and strengthen the road surface.
Saint-Gobain India said the GlasGrid system has been in use across India for over a decade and has been successfully applied on multiple occasions to reduce reflective cracking and extend the fatigue life of asphalt pavements, thereby improving the performance and service life of the pavement.
The company said the technology is applied selectively to certain sections of the road, typically to strengthen layers where reflective cracks may form.
As part of the trials, two locations on this stretch of road have been selected for installation of GlasGrid: Elewankadu village in Vellore and Kanigapuram village near Ambur in Tirupattur. A 1.2 km layer of glass fibre mesh has already been installed at Elewankadu and a 2 km layer at Kanigapuram. The work is nearing completion.
The performance of the fibreglass mesh will be monitored for one to two years before it is applied to other key sections of the road. | Image source: Special Agreement
Officials from the National Highways Authority of India said that currently cracks on major highways can only be repaired after the asphalt pavement is completely milled. This process is not only costly for the government exchequer but also very labor-intensive as it requires a lot of manpower to remove the milled asphalt from the road section.
NHAI has completely replaced the asphalt pavement of the roadway to a thickness of 40 mm, replaced damaged steel medians, road markings (including pedestrian crossings) and cleared the area around the medians from shrubs.
To ensure the safety of motorists, the Nepal National Highways Authority is currently increasing the overall height of the retaining walls of the flyovers from two feet (0.6 meters) to five feet (1.5 meters). Each flyover is on average about 800 meters long and 15 meters wide. There are about 50 flyovers on the route, including railway crossings.
Post time: Aug-14-2025