"Still working with USSR standards": A conversation about quality in road construction on "Nima dard?" ("What is the pain?")

"Still working with USSR standards": A conversation about road construction quality on "Nima dard?"

Usually, when road quality is mentioned, people pay attention to its visible part — the asphalt pavement. If the road is smooth, it is evaluated as good; if potholes or wavy sections appear, it is concluded that it was poorly constructed.

According to Ziyodulla Bakhromov, a road is actually a rather complex engineering structure. It starts from the soil and consists of several base and pavement layers. Therefore, simply renewing the top layer may not solve the problem.

"If we choose the road base correctly, the top layer can be fixed. If the base is chosen incorrectly, fixing the top layer means we are only fooling ourselves. After a certain period of time, it will still deteriorate," says the specialist.

He explains that the waving of asphalt near traffic lights or the appearance of longitudinal and transverse deformations on the road is also not solely related to the top pavement.

For this reason, approaching every road with the same, ready-made template is incorrect. The purpose of the road, the intensity of traffic passing through it, the number of heavy trucks, soil, and climatic conditions must be taken into account.

As Uzbekistan's economy grows, traffic is also increasing. The increase in production volume means the transportation of raw materials and goods, the movement of people, and an increase in heavy cargo transport traffic.

Bakhromov notes that changes in infrastructure cannot always keep pace with the rate of economic growth.

Heavy transport is of particular importance in this matter. In the interview, the specialist says that the load placed on the road by one large truck can be equal to the impact of many passenger cars.

Therefore, it is important to design roads not only for today's traffic flow, but also taking into account future loads and economic growth.