New Delhi recycles its roads

Telcon Ecoroad Resurfaces has launched a Rs 37 crore ($7.8 million) project in New Delhi to recover and re-use asphalt to make new roads.

The Delhi government tapped Telcon and the Central Road Research Institute for the 42-kilometer (26.1-mile) paving project, which is to be completed by June 2010.

In a typical resurfacing project, a layer of asphalt is deposited on the existing road. Telcon is using a road recycling technology out of Canada that heats and removes the top layer of asphalt.

The recovered asphalt is mixed with fresh bitumen and aggregate to increase its strength; however, it requires just one-third the aggregate and bitumen needed for new roads. Telcon said. The composition is then tested in the lab and on-site before being deposited on the road.

Telcon says the technology has the added benefit of fast drying time, as it can withstand traffic in a few hours. The road has a lifespan on five to seven years.

Telcon is a joint venture of the Tata Group, Japan's Hitachi Construction Machinery, India's IVRCL, and Japan's Green Arm. 

It's not the first green transportation project for Delhi. In March, The Delhi Metro Rail installed a 5-kilowatt solar power system at its offices, a month after receiving confirmation from German carbon credit validation firm TUVNORD that it prevented 90,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted through its regenerative braking system from 2004 to 2007 (see Delhi Metro continues green push with solar and Delhi Metro earns carbon credits for regenerative braking system).

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