Improvement of Major Road Intersections in Urban Areas by the Use of Thin Whitetopping Technology (TWT)

Improvement of Major Road Intersections in Urban Areas by the Use of Thin Whitetopping Technology (TWT) | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Improvement of Major Road Intersections in Urban Areas by the Use of Thin Whitetopping Technology (TWT) Ashok Kumar. N. Rajanavar, Chetan. G. Konapure, Naveen. N. Desai, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8094679/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Whitetopping, or concrete overlay, is applied over existing bituminous pavement to improve the load-carrying capacity and ride quality of worn surfaces. It effectively addresses problems like rutting and texture loss at a lower cost than bituminous solutions. In Solapur city, many flexible pavements at major intersections are deteriorating due to insufficient thickness and poor drainage. This situation leads to higher maintenance and vehicle operating costs, as well as safety issues for pedestrians, especially in hot climates where bitumen is more prone to damage. This study examines a major distressed intersection for whitetopping design based on pavement performance studies, including the Benkelman Beam Deflection Study. We evaluated the feasibility of different concrete options, such as normal concrete, polypropylene fiber reinforced concrete, and fly-ash concrete (20% replacement) as topping materials. A cost-benefit analysis considered the entire life cycle expenses to find the most effective overlay solution. After detailed investigations, including topographical studies, road condition assessments, traffic analyses, deflection studies, and material investigations at the major intersection, we propose a 200mm thick Thin Whitetopping Pavement with 20% cement replacement by fly ash. Although the upfront construction cost of a concrete overlay is much higher than that of a bituminous overlay, the life cycle cost analysis indicates that using fly ash makes the concrete overlay more economical over time. This leads to a net savings of 29.82% for concrete overlay with fly ash over the project's lifespan, making it a financially smart choice for long-term infrastructure investments. Additionally, we recommend geometric corrections to improve visibility and facilitate turning. The turning radius has been increased from 15m to 30m. We also propose a 5.5m additional lane for left-turning vehicles to ensure smooth traffic flow during peak hours. New traffic islands are included to manage movement, reduce congestion, and provide refuge for pedestrians. Concrete Overlay Thin Concrete Overlay Ultra-Thin Concrete Overlay Benkelman Beam Deflection Fly-ash Polypropylene Fibers whole life-cycle cost Fiber Composite Concrete Fly ash concrete Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers invited by journal 13 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 13 Nov, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 13 Nov, 2025 First submitted to journal 12 Nov, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8094679","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":590732524,"identity":"3ab794a9-127a-403e-8c56-63133a07cdb0","order_by":0,"name":"Ashok Kumar. N. 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