Guwahati: India’s premier road research institute, CSIR-Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), has joined hands with the Public Works Department (PWD), Assam to fix the potholes using an instant pothole repair mix technology called ‘ECOFIX’.
The state faces the challenge of recurring potholes during the monsoon season. To address this challenge, as envisioned by Chief Minister Assam Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma to make the Assam roads pothole-free, Chief Secretary Assam Dr. Ravi Kota explored the innovative technological solution of instant pothole repair ECOFIX developed by the CSIR-CRRI.
A presentation was delivered by Satish Pandey, Head Flexible Pavement Division CSIR-CRRI and inventor of ECOFIX technology during a meeting held on February 18.
CSIR-CRRI in collaboration with the PWD Assam also carried out successful demonstrations of this technology on G.S. Road, Guwahati.
The ECOFIX instant pothole repair mix is developed using industrial waste material of steel industries i.e. iron and steel slag, and has the unique ability to repair the water-logged pothole without any dewatering requirement.
Conventional road repair technologies require the dewatering of potholes and the application of a tack coat but ECOFIX can be applied even under water-logged conditions without any tack coat requirement.
The repaired road surface can be opened immediately for traffic movement. In terms of durability and longevity, the repaired surface will perform better than the regular road as the ECOFIX is prepared using processed iron and steel slag aggregates and specially customized binder.
This technology has already been well-tested in terms of durability and performance in Gujarat, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Arunachal Pradesh.
During the live demonstration, Special Secretary PWD Assam Chandan Sharma informed that the PWD Assam has successfully tested the technology via this demonstration project and will utilise this eco-friendly sustainable road repair technology in Assam.
Manoj Kumar Das, Superintendent Engineer PWRD Guwahati, further added that during monsoon season when the majority of hot mix plants cannot be operated, ECOFIX technology will be a boon to the state roads to carry out durable road repair in an eco-friendly manner.
Debajit Bhuyan, Special Secretary to the Government of Assam, PWRD; Jagmohan Basumatary, Director, Assam Road Research & Training Institute; Bidur Borgayari, Additional Chief Engineer, PWRD, Barak Valley Zone; Abhijit Choudhury and Superintending Engineer, PWRD, City Road Circle, Guwahati were also present during the successful demonstration.
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Both the Assam government and CSIR-CRRI have also agreed to sign an MoU during the ensuing Advantage Assam 2.0: Global Investment and Infrastructure Summit 2025 to be held on February 25-26, 2025 in Guwahati so that real-time pothole filling of roads in Guwahati city can be undertaken from this year onwards.
