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• The solution to bad roads may lie in the trimmings of a synthetic fibre. Research by an applied mechanics scholar at SVNIT shows that waste pieces of Recron, a synthetic reinforcing material made by Reliance, help bind the soil under the road.One per cent of Recron waste by weight prevents the soil from expanding on absorbing moisture in the rains or shrinking in summer. The expansion and shrinkage create holes in the road.This could be vital for Surat which has 1,500 km of roads with another 1,000 km being planned. Already, several roads being laid in the outskirts of Surat are encountering this problem."Surat has expansive soil and so when we make new roads we have to take care of the load bearing capacity of the soil. We must also enhance the value of the soil so that it doesn't wash off after a shower or buckle under the pressure of heavy load," said Dr Mahesh Desai, an expert on the subject and faculty at SVNIT.
• "The strength of the soil is problematic as it swells and shrinks with the availability and lack of moisture. This doesn't give proper firmness or grip to the tar or any other material and increases the cost of road laying at least ten times," said Prof Desai. "But our scholar, Kalpana Maheshwari, has found a solution for the problem for this type of expansive soil. Waste pieces of Recron when mixed in very little quantity of oil and then added to the soil give a wonderful result," he added.Kalpana Maheswari's research shows that the fibre absorbs everything and keeps the road surface intact. "We need Recron to the tune of just one per cent of the weight of the soil to bind it properly," said Desai.J Shah, City Engineer, said, "If it works, we will certainly adopt it."

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