India’s first waste steel highway

The Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), NITI Aayog, and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have collaborated to make Surat in Gujarat, the first city in the country to get a steel slag road (industrial waste). The 1.2-kilometer steel slag road built at Surat’s Hazira port road by replacing natural aggregates with 100 per cent processed steel slag, is now open to traffic. The road, which is made completely of steel, is thought to be more cost-effective and durable than traditional roads in the country, and it can withstand the damage that the monsoon season brings with it. With steel road durability a top priority, it’s estimated that at least 20 loaded trucks pass through this stretch every day. It could also be a game changer in up-cycling steel slag that would otherwise end up in landfills.