Cement Vs Bitumen: Which is better for road projects???

Experts explain why cement concrete roads gaining acceptance over bitumen roads

The Indian government had decided to reduce dependency on bitumen (asphalt), the popular raw material for road construction, in favour of cement (concrete) for all new road projects since 2014. The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana has made it clear that all roads are to be made from cement moving forward. The decision was taken in consideration to the fact that concrete roads are seen to be more durable and thus will bring down the cost of road maintenance significantly.

According to Debasis Bhattacharya, Head –Sales, Marketing & Product Support, Ajax Fiori Engineering (I) Pvt Ltd, broadly classifying, rigid pavements (cement concrete roads) and flexible pavements (asphalt roads) are the types of roads that are used for road construction in India. Flexible pavement involves mixing of hot bitumen (a black color binder material) with gravels and placing the mixture on the well prepared granular sub-base course and rolling a compactor to level the surface of the road whereas rigid pavement is made of homogenous concrete which is poured and leveled on a similar granular sub-base course.

Influencing factors
Sharing his views on which one is better – concrete roads or bitumen roads, Bhattacharya says, “It depends on many factors like feasibility, initial cost, maintenance cost, life cycle cost, durability, etc. Flexible pavements are preferred because of low initial cost when compared to rigid pavements but when the life-cycle cost (i.e. selection of a type of road which will provide a satisfactory level of service at the lowest cost over design life) is considered, rigid pavements are much recommended because of lower life-cycle and maintenance cost.”

Everything has its pros ‘n’ cons
On what is better for road projects, Prashanth Kumar, Executive Director, Sicoma Mixers India Pvt Ltd shared his point of view stating, “Both have its pros and cons. From a user’s perspective, asphalt roads offer smoother and less noisy drives when compared to concrete roads. Since the friction and resultant heat generated on rubber tires is less on asphalt roads, probably the service life of tires is better.  ”

He also opines, “As asphalt reacts with water badly, in the absence of an effective drainage system, asphalt roads disintegrate rapidly with waterlogging. The service life of concrete roads is good due to its all weatherproof nature. With modern concrete mixing plants and paving machinery, you can achieve faster productivity.”

For highways, one can lay concrete roads and side curbs simultaneously. The selection of asphalt or concrete roads depends on some factors such as traffic density, payloads, weather conditions, etc.

Advantages of concrete roads
Commenting on which material is better for road projects, Sailaj Verma, Sr. Vice President, KYB-Conmat Pvt Ltd, believes that cement (rigid pavement) is much better for roads as compared to bitumen (flexible pavement).


Cement: Long-lasting material for roads
With varying water table levels as well varying rainfall conditions across the Indian geography, cement roads emerge as a more durable and sturdy option, since bitumen roads are known to get eroded by water, Verma said.

Upendra Mujumdar, Head – Sales and Marketing, Columbia Machine Engineering (I) Pvt Ltd is also in the opinion of concrete roads are better. He says, “Concrete roads give more life and very minimum maintenance if they are laid properly. It has been experienced in India where there is heavy rainfall that bitumen road tends to disintegrate creating huge potholes. However, this is not the case with cement roads.”



 Cement concrete roads are one such application where the freshness of the concrete plays a key role in achieving of final strength which is difficult to be attained using a batching plant. Moreover, using of SLCM is cost-effective, produces homogenous concrete at site and also there is an overall reduction in the duration of the project. Also the cement concrete roads which are constructed will have a life-span of 20 years which is difficult to be achieved with bitumen roads for a lower life-cycle and maintenance cost (20-25 per cent), claims Bhattacharya.

Durability and maintenance-free life
Concrete roads have a long service life of 40 years whereas asphalt roads last for around 10 years. Moreover, during this service life concrete roads do not require frequent repair or patching work like asphalt roads.

Vehicles consume less fuel
A vehicle, when runs over a concrete road, consumes 15-20 per cent less fuel than that on asphalt roads. This is because of the fact that a concrete road does not get deflected under the wheels of loaded trucks.

Resistant to automobile fuel spillage and extreme weather
Unlike asphalt roads, concrete roads do not get damaged by the leaking oils from the vehicles or by the extreme weather conditions like excess rain or extreme heat.

Greener process
Asphalt (bitumen) produces lots of highly polluting gases at the time of melting it for paving. Also, less fuel consumption by the vehicle running on a concrete road means less pollution.

 We at Chester Hills are making Concrete Roads for a better driving experiance.