An Open Letter to Hon.

Nitin Gadkari for Saving over Rupees One

Lakh Crores per Year in Road Construction

14 August 2021

Honourable Shri Nitin Gadkari (Personal)

Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH)
Transport Bhawan, 1, Parliament Street
New Delhi-110 001

Subject: Savings of over Rs. one lakh crores per year by building robust and
durable asphalt roads

Honourable Minister:

You may please recall that I was introduced to you at your house on 26 January 2020
by Hon. Jal Shakti Minister Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. It was intended to
discuss with you a plan which would save over Rs. one lakh crores per year by
building robust and durable asphalt roads across India. However, you invited me to
come to your office and present the plan in the presence of Secretary and Director
General (DG) Roads so that it can be implemented. Unfortunately, the lockdown has
prevented to have such a meeting and the near future also appears uncertain.

Since our economy has taken a big hit from Covid-19, this is the right time to begin a
savings of over Rs. one lakh crores per year. Time is of essence. Therefore, we cannot
wait for our meeting. My plan is simple and easy to understand even by Aam Aadmi.
It has been spelled out in this letter. [I believe I have reasonable credibility to do so. I
have about 30 years’ experience in the US and 30 years’ experience in India as a
highway engineer. My brief resume is at the end of this letter.]

MORTH Specifications (the so-called orange book) permit the use of several
bituminous paving mixes for asphalt roads in India. Of these several mixes, only 3
dense mixes which are really dense result in robust and durable asphalt roads. There
are 4 mixes which are either semi dense or open, absorb and trap water and,
therefore, develop premature potholes during rainy season. Such mixes which are not
used anywhere in the world, need to be deleted from MORTH Specifications. [Even
Aam Aadmi knows water is Enemy No. 1 of bitumen and it can destroy the asphalt
road regardless whether it is a rural road or a national highway. The recommendations
of deleting these undesirable mixes have been repeatedly made in three Indian Roads
Congress (IRC) formal technical papers authored by me and Prof. Veeraragavan of
IIT Madras since 2008. [It should be mentioned that dense mixes are largely used on
national highways in India.]

This has also brought a bad name for asphalt roads in India leading to public criticism.
The four water-trapping bituminous mixes to be deleted are: Bituminous Macadam
(BM); Premix Carpet with Seal Coat (PMC); Mixed Seal Surfacing (MSS); and DBM

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Grading 1. My letters on this subject have not drawn due attention by the concerned
officials and hence this letter to you.

It is possible that some Ministry engineers may have some apprehensions in deleting
the water-trapping bituminous mixes from MORTH Specifications. Since I will not be
in your meeting with them, my responses to some potential apprehensions are given in
the parenthesis [ ].

1. These mixes are good for India, they have served us well. [If they are good
why the developed countries would not even consider them?]
2. India cannot afford dense bituminous mixes. [Alternate dense bituminous
mixes would cost anywhere from 60% cheaper to about 5% costlier than the
undesirable mixes. Life cycle cost estimates have indicated savings of over Rs.
one lakh crores per year.]
3. MORTH has to refer this case of deleting the 4 undesirable mixes to IRC to
seek their opinion. [IRC may have several different bituminous mixes in their
different codes, however, MORTH is at liberty to select and specify the right
ones. It has been done so in the past. Semi dense Bituminous Concrete
(SDBC) mix was deleted from the MORTH Specifications in 2013 although it
is still in IRC Code.]
4. Orange book (MORTH Specifications is being revised by the IRC on request
from MORTH; IRC can be asked to consider deleting these 4 undesirable
mixes in the revised edition. [MORTH has been unable to revise the orange
book for the last 7 years or so. It should be revised every year by issuing
corrigendum/circulars. Time is of essence. MORTH can issue such
corrigendum/circulars right away without waiting for the whole book to be
revised.]

Therefore, the Ministry should issue a circular in this regard as soon as possible. As
you are aware, the PMGSY (Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojna) rural roads are
under the Ministry of Rural Development headed by Hon. Minister Tomar with whom
I personally met on 26 January 2020 through Hon. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. Hon.
Tomar was convinced by me to delete the most commonly used undesirable, water-
trapping bituminous mix (PMC) used on PMGSY roads and use the alternate (surface
dressing) suggested by me which would result in savings of over Rs.10,000 crores per
year and produce durable bituminous surfacing. Hon. Tomar instructed Shri Rajesh
Bhushan, IAS, the then Secretary of Rural Development who was also present in the
meeting to implement the change as soon as possible, which is being done right now.

I sincerely hope you will take personal interest in this important issue as soon as
possible to ensure savings of over Rs. one lakh crores per year, at the same time
building robust and durable asphalt roads across India. Since you have the reputation
of a practical thinker and doer, you are the best hope for India. Sir, you have done a
great job for national highway construction, this largely pertains to non-NH highways
across India where your swift action is needed to make a difference.

Annexure A to this letter gives technical guidance to MORTH engineers as to which

dense bituminous mixes/applications will replace the water-trapping mixes. MORTH
engineers are welcome to contact me if there are any questions. I can be reached via
email: pkandhal@gmail.com

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A copy of this open letter is being shared by me with over 2000 highway colleagues
across India, who look forward to your action.

Kindly acknowledge the receipt of this letter and also respond to me. Thanks.

Best regards,

Prof. Prithvi Singh Kandhal

Karanpura House, 50 Raj Bhawan Rd.
Civil Lines, Jaipur 302 006
pkandhal@gmail.com

About the Writer

Prof. Prithvi Singh Kandhal is Associate Director Emeritus of the National Center for
Asphalt Technology (NCAT) based at Auburn University, Alabama, U.S.A. NCAT is
the largest asphalt (bitumen) road technology center in the world. Currently, he
resides in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

Prior to joining NCAT in 1988, Prof. Kandhal served as Chief Asphalt Road Engineer
of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for 17 years. He served as
President, International Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists; Chairman,
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International Committee on
Road Paving Standards; and Chairman, US Transportation Research Board
Committee on Asphalt Roads. Prof. Kandhal co-authored the first ever textbook on
asphalt road technology, which is used by more than 25 universities in the U.S.

Prof. Kandhal has been a practicing highway engineer in India for over 25 years and
in the US for 30 years. In recent years, he has drafted many standards for the Indian
Roads Congress including specifications for dense graded bituminous mixes, stone
matrix asphalt and readymade pothole patching mix. He was also instrumental single-
handedly in introducing viscosity grading of bitumen in India in lieu of penetration
grading in 2005. He has now published in July 2016 the first ever textbook cum
reference book, “Bituminous Road Construction in India”.

In April 2012, Prof. Kandhal received the “Lifetime Achievement Award in Asphalt
Road Technology” from the International Association of Asphalt Paving
Technologists during their annual banquet held in Austin, Texas, USA.

CC: Shri Giridhar Aramane, IAS, Secretary MORTH

Shri I.K. Pandey, Director General Roads, MORTH

“American roads are good not because America is rich, but America is rich
because American roads are good.” - John F. Kennedy

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 ANNEXURE A

Refer to the Indian Roads Congress (IRC) Paper No. 662, “A Critical Review of
Practices for Improving Ride Quality and Periodical Renewal of Bituminous
Pavements in India”, published in the IRC Journal Volume 78-1, April-June 2017.
This paper identifies with detailed technical detailed reasons the undesirable, water-
trapping bituminous mixes which should be deleted from MORTH Specifications;
recommends the dense bituminous mixes/applications (including the new 9.5 mm
nominal maximum aggregate size (NMAS) dense graded BC wearing course) as
replacements; and gives the comparative costs of both undesirable and desirable
bituminous mixes. This paper can also be downloaded at the following link:

https://www.scribd.com/document/348021492/Review-of-Practices-for-Improving-
Ride-Quality-and-Periodical-Renewal-of-Bituminous-Pavements-in-India

The following four bituminous mixes should be deleted:

Semi dense graded bituminous mixes

Mixed Seal Surfacing (MSS) – both gradations
DBM Grading 1
Open graded bituminous mixes
BM – both gradations
Premix carpet (PMC) with seal coat

Note: DBM Grading 1 should also be deleted because it is not truly dense graded
from 37.5 mm to 4.75 mm size; is permeable to water due to its large nominal
maximum aggregate size (NMAS); tends to segregate; and fails prematurely in the
field compared to DBM Grading 2 (see IRC Paper for detailed explanation and field
performance).

The dense graded bituminous mixes shown in Table 1 should only be used for the
intended purposes.

Table 1. Dense bituminous mixes to be used for the intended courses

Bituminous Pavement Course Dense Graded Bituminous Mix

Base Course DBM Grading 2 (NMAS 25 mm)
Binder Course BC Grading 1 (NMAS 19 mm)
Wearing Course (coarse) BC Grading 2 (NMAS 13.2 mm)
Wearing Course (fine) BC Grading 3 (NMAS 9 mm)

Note: There is only one mix for base course and only one mix for the binder course
unlike the current MORTH Specifications where several mixes can be used

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interchangeably for base and binder courses, creating a lot of confusion. If the
designed thickness permits, then use all three: base, binder and wearing course mixes.
If total thickness is relatively less, use binder and wearing course mixes.

Proposed BC Grading 3 should be preferred over BC Grading 2 for thin asphalt lifts,
rural roads, and city streets.

Mix composition (gradation and bitumen content) for new BC Grading 3 (NMAS 9.5
mm) is given in the IRC paper referred above. This new mix which is used
extensively in foreign countries even on national highways has to meet all Marshall
design criteria as required for BC Grading 1 and BC Grading 2. Table 2 gives the mix
compositions of all three BC mixes: BC Grading 1, BC Grading 2, and BC Grading 3
with revised layer thicknesses. Revised layer thicknesses are 3 to 4 times NMAS
based on the latest research. Mix compositions for BC Grading 1 and BC Grading 2
are the same as in 2013 MORTH Specifications.

Table 2. Mix compositions of three Bituminous Concrete (BC) Mixes

SPECIFICATION BC GRADING NUMBER

Grading 1 2 3

Nominal maximum 19 mm 13.2 mm 9.5 mm

aggregate size (NMAS)
Layer thickness 60-80 mm 40-50 mm 30-40 mm
IS Sieve size (mm) Percent passing by weight
26.5 100
19 90-100 100
13.2 59-79 90-100 100
9.5 52-72 70-88 90-100
4.75 35-55 53-71 55-75
2.36 28-44 42-58 40-55
1.18 20-34 34-48 29-44
0.6 15-27 26-38 21-33
0.3 10-20 18-28 14-25
0.15 5-13 12-20 7-15
0.075 2-8 4-10 4-7
Bitumen content (min.) 5.2% 5.4% 5.7%

Table 3 gives the bituminous mixes which are to be deleted and the dense mixes
which will replace the deleted mixes.

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Table 3. Bituminous mixes to be deleted and their replacements
Bituminous Mixes to be Deleted Replacement Bituminous Mixes
SDBC – both gradations* 30 mm BC Grading 3
Mixed Seal Surfacing (MSS) – both 30 mm BC Grading 3
gradations
BM – both gradations DBM Grading 2
Premix Carpet (PMC) with Seal Coat Surface Dressing with Precoated
Aggregate or 30 mm BC Grading 3
DBM Grading 1 DBM Grading 2
• Already deleted by MORTH in 2013

The preceding recommendations can be implemented with a MORTH Circular with

copies to all State PWDs.

14 August 2021