On January 13, India marked a watershed moment in sustainable road construction by opening the first National Highway steel slag road segment on NH-66, which connects Mumbai and Goa.
This ground-breaking effort converts trash from the steel industry into a useful resource for building sturdy and environmentally sustainable national roads.
JSW Steel built a 1-kilometer-long four-lane steel slag road stretch on the Indapur-Panvel stretch of NH-66 Mumbai-Goa using CSIR-CRRI technology. For this project, JSW Steel transformed around 80,000 tonnes of CONARC Steel slag into processed steel slag aggregates at its Dolvi, Raigad plant.
These treated steel slag aggregates surpass natural aggregates in a variety of mechanical qualities and are used in all layers of the road rather than natural aggregates. The road has bituminous and cement concrete steel slag parts on both the right (RHS) and left (LHS) carriageways.
This unique steel slag road technology supports Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Waste to Wealth' initiative. It has been proven to be more durable, lasting up to ten years against three to four years for bitumen roads, resulting in much cheaper maintenance costs.
India has pioneered the world's most advanced Steel Slag Road Technology, which addresses the difficulty of controlling slag produced by steel factories. The method, developed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in partnership with the Ministry of Steel and major steel manufacturers, enables the large-scale use of scrap steel slag in road construction.
This technology not only produces cost-effective and robust roads, which are typically 30% less expensive than conventional paving, but it also tackles environmental issues about waste steel slag and unsustainable natural aggregate mining. With India as the world's second-largest steel manufacturer, creating around 19 million tonnes of steel slag per year, there is tremendous potential for wider use of steel slag road technology.
The Steel Ministry, in partnership with the Ministries of Science and Technology and Road Transport and Highways, intends to investigate the potential for steel slag road technology throughout the country. The use of steel slag in road construction not only successfully controls trash, but also contributes to greener and cleaner infrastructure development. As India continues to prioritize sustainable practices, steel slag road technology offers a viable answer to both environmental and infrastructure concerns.
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