A record for asphalt paving has been set on a road project in India. According to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the 75km of asphalt being laid continuously on a single lane of the NH53 has set a new Guinness World Record.
This achievement was announced by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari. The work started on 3rd June 2022 at 7:27am and was completed on 7th June 2022 at 5pm, taking 105 hours and 33 minutes. The NH53 route was paved between Amrawati District and Akola District with 36,634tonnes of asphalt containing 2,070tonnes of bitumen during this time. The work was carried out by contractor Raj Path Infracon.
The previous Guinness World Record for the longest continuously laid stretch of asphalt road was a 25.275km section that was achieved in Doha, Qatar in Feb 2019. The task took 10 days to complete.
The NH 53 route is an important east-east corridor that connects major cities including Kolkata, Raipur, Nagpur and Surat. Once completed, this stretch will play a major role in boosting traffic and freight on this route.
Of note is that in 2021, a world record was also set in India for concrete paving. Patel Infrastructure Limited laid the concrete surface for the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and was able to pave a 2,580m stretch during 24 hours. This section of road forms part of the greenfield Delhi-Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway.
