Times News Network Varanasi: A Road Research Laboratory will soon come up at the Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University) in view of the necessity of research in the thrust area and the dissemination of findings through scholarly publications, white papers and in the media.
An MoU regarding the same was signed between the IIT-BHU and GR Infraprojects Limited on Friday.
The MoU was signed by the director of the institute Prof Pramod Kumar Jain and chairman, GRIL Vinod Kumar Agarwal.
The Union minister for Road, Transport & Highways & MSME Nitin Gadkari, UP deputy chief minister and minister for Public Works Departments Keshav Prasad Maurtya and additional chief secretary Awanish Awasthi were present during signing of the MoU.
Gadkari congratulated IIT-BHU and GRIL and said that the condition of roads should be improved without compromising with the quality.
“It is a matter of great pride to have a private sector like GRIL and IIT working together on this subject.
New research will make this possible.
The use of solid waste material in road construction is a very important step,” he said.
He called upon the IIT researchers to work on the reduction in the use of steel and cement in construction of roads and bridges.
Speaking on the occasion, Maurya said that this MoU will be very effective for enhancing the quality of road construction and reducing the expenses.
The IIT-BHU director Prof Jain said that this MoU will be applicable for a period of five years.
Under the MoU, the academicians of the institute and other experts of the country will undertake studies related to road safety, environmental and social impacts under the Highway Safety Development Project.
The main objective of this MoU will be research for construction of sustainable and eco-friendly roads in the country, he said adding that research on recycling of bituminous (asphalt) mix, mechanistic pavement design for Indian roads and making pavement from solid waste materials, development of performance-based mix design for bituminous mix will be the major goals.
Assistant professor of civil engineering Dr Nikhil Saboo has played an important role in bringing this project to the institute.
IIT-BHU signs MoU with GRIL for establishing Road Research lab
