DEALING WITH POTHOLES - I

I have been reading for quite a while in the newspapers about the traffic woes in Hyderabad due to the potholes and the washed-away roads. It is indeed a sorry state of affairs every monsoon season, and the apathy of the concerned authorities have added to the people's woes.
But thinking from both perspectives, it is very strenuous financially for the municipal corporation to re-lay the ever eroding bitumen roads. And in a country like India, where the multitude and density of vehicular traffic is beyond any transportation engineer's imagination, these bitumen roads cannot withstand the wear and tear.

A simple solution is to replace the bitumen roads with reinforced concrete roads. A proper reinforced concrete slab with minimum 18mm re-bars, can withstand the kind of density and weight of traffic that cities like Hyderabad have. But, keeping in mind the cost of cement and steel, and the costs involved in re-laying the whole road system of a city with concrete, a very simple solution can be arrived at, with a little research and a little common sense.

The authorities need to study about specific points where the weight of the traffic (when taken as a whole) is more on the surface. A little common sense would tell us that usually the weight is more when the traffic is at a standstill and moving at slower, sporadic speeds, rather than when it is moving at a constant speed. This means that the weight and pressure on the surface is greater at intersections or junctions and the average distance used by the vehicles to slow down and stop at these junctions. The braking system works on the concept of friction, and more the friction between the rubber and the bitumen, more is the wear and tear.
If these 'nodes' or high density can be identified and converted to reinforced concrete, I believe that the problem of uneven and premature erosion and the formation of potholes can be reduced by at least 40%.