Ganderbal, May 24: Border Roads Organisation’s (BRO) Project Vijayak in Kargil has successfully utilized the indigenous REJUPAVE road construction technology on the Drass-Umbala-Sankoo Road.
Developed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Central Road Research Institute (CSIR-CRRI) under the Ministry of Science and Technology, REJUPAVE is designed for high-altitude bituminous road construction in low and sub-zero temperatures, such as those found in Drass, the world’s second coldest inhabited place.
REJUPAVE, an innovative asphalt modifier derived from biomass and renewable resources, reduces the heating requirements for bituminous mixes and maintains their temperature during transit. This advanced technology was previously implemented by BRO for road sections at the world’s highest Sela road tunnel and the LGG-Damteng-Yangste (LDY) road section near Arunachal Pradesh’s China border at 18,000 feet. The latest successful application on the Drass-Umbala-Sankoo Road at 13,000 feet demonstrates its effectiveness in extreme cold.
M/s Verma Industries, the technology partner of CSIR-CRRI, supplied REJUPAVE for this project.
The principal scientist and inventor of REJUPAVE, Satish Pandey, emphasized that this technology not only enables road construction in frigid temperatures but also reduces greenhouse gas emissions, helping to preserve eco-sensitive areas like Ladakh. Roads constructed with REJUPAVE in cold climates show improved durability and resistance to low-temperature cracking.
Lt. Col. Divyankit Nainwal, Officer Commanding 55 RCC of Project Vijayak, noted that REJUPAVE reduces the production and rolling temperatures of bituminous mixes by 30-40 degrees Celsius, with minimal heat loss during transit. This technology extends the operational window for agencies such as BRO, PWD, and NHDICL, allowing them to construct robust road networks more rapidly in challenging conditions like those in Drass.
The successful implementation of REJUPAVE on the Drass-Umbala-Sankoo Road marks a significant advancement in high-altitude road construction, promising enhanced infrastructure development in India’s most challenging terrains.
