Self-healing, magical highways to resolve pothole situation in India: NHAI’s prospective plan explained

One of the most challenging things about the Indian roads has been the situation of potholes, especially in the rural areas. Well, as technology is advancing there’s been an immense growth in the highway connectivity across the country, the National Highways Authority of India is exploring an innovative solution to tackle the issue of potholes – self-healing materials for road construction.
As per DD News, this innovation will enable a road to autonomously repair itself, thanks to a new asphalt blend. This composite will be a mix of steel fibres and bitumen. In the event of a gap formation, the bitumen will expand to fill it, while the steel threads will assist in patching potholes. Besides the benefit of reducing the potholes, this technology also has the potential to prolong the road’s durability and cut maintenance costs.

Potholes create big problems for people driving in India, leading to traffic jams, damage to vehicles, and sometimes accidents. During the rainy season, the situation gets worse as water makes the roads weaker. Even though the idea of using self-repairing materials for roads isn’t new, it’s still being thought about on a big scale in India. NHAI might start small tests on some highways to see if these materials work well and are worth the cost. Having self-healing highways could be really good news for India’s roads in the future.
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