Pervious concrete pavement (PCP) systems are engineered roadway technologies that are known to mitigate stormwater runoff attributed to their high porosity. Though significant advancements have been made at the global level, research, and innovation pertinent to PCPs is still emerging in India. Therefore, the objective of this research was to present the evolution of PCP technology in the Indian context. The details pertinent to mix design and characterization, field construction and monitoring, and development of innovative PCP products were presented. Test results indicated that PCPs are suitable for applications in walkways, parking lots, and low-volume roads. It was further observed that the quality control with traditional construction practices was poor resulting in inconsistent mix properties. Though paver blocks offer superior quality products than conventional PCP, they suffer from low strength and maintenance issues. Therefore, recent research focused on designing Pervious All-road class All-weather Multilayered paver (PARAMpave) blocks, whose flexural strength and infiltration rates were higher than 4.8 MPa and 0.77 cm/s, respectively making them suitable for application in all-road-all-weather conditions. Further, PARAMpave consumes lower energy and generates fewer emissions during production. However, additional research must focus on construction of test sections by utilizing pervious concrete paver blocks and PARAMpave products to identify their performance during the design life.

The increased urbanization has caused conversion of natural pervious ground into impervious layer due to concretization with respect to pavement construction. The impervious layers have reduced the groundwater recharge and increased the frequency of flash floods and urban heat island (UHI) effects. One of the engineered ways to reduce the effect of impervious layers without affecting the development is to utilize pervious concrete pavements suitably. Pervious concrete pavements provide multiple benefits such as increased groundwater recharge, reduced UHI effects, and skid resistant riding surface. However, the utilization and implementation of pervious concrete pavements in India is very minimal owing to lack of expertise and experience. With an aim to introduce the pervious concrete pavements to larger arena, this paper provides information about two successful case studies regarding construction of pervious concrete pavements as demonstration test sections. The case studies provide information about construction of pervious concrete pavements using new gradations, mix designs as well as functional and structural performance characteristics. The methods used in this study were labor-based, which could easily be implemented by small-scale contractors in locations such as parking lots, pedestrian walkways, fuel filling stations, and highway shoulders.