Uttar Pradesh is now home to an innovate first-of-it’s-kind road stretch built of molasses. Yes, you heard it right! The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has build this 650 m long road using a cost effective formula and it’s touted to be better than than the conventional all-bitumen road. Molasses is basically a brown viscous liquid, produced as a byproduct in sugar production. Funny how it was nothing but a waste product few years back.

The phenomenal model of this road is designed by the Department of Civil Engineering at IIT-Roorkee. They replaced asphalt binder with molasses to make a robust bituminous mixtures with optimum dosage of sugarcane molasses to be around 25%. And above all, bitumen costs ₹50 per kg whereas molasses costs ₹10 per litre, that straight away brought down the overall cost by 15%. It further contributes to the reduction of environmental pollution as less fuel is required.

The pilot stretch of this project in Titawi region of Muzaffarnagar has been thrown open for public transports and so far, it has met all parameters of road stands and infrastructure, stated officials. 

The administration plans to use this blend of molasses and bitumen for major infra projects of the country, in future. Research on cost effective bio-binders used in road construction is currently in progress at the IIT-Roorkee.