The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Traffic snarls force agencies into action

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Friday, Jul 06, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Kochi

Traffic snarls force agencies into action

Staff Reporter

Steps initiated to fill potholes

KOCHI: With public ire mounting against them, the Public Works Department and Kochi Corporation have begun attempts to temporarily fill potholes in the city, using concrete.

This comes in the backdrop of worsening traffic hold ups because of unmotorable roads. “On Thursday, it took 20 minutes to cover the distance from the GCDA office to Manorama Junction, a distance of hardly 500 metres,” says a two-wheeler rider.

Not only roads but also footpaths have become unusable, making life hell for pedestrians. While in some cases there are no slabs over the drains, there are instances where slabs have caved in .

At many places, they dangerously protrude posing danger to pedestrians despite the Corporation pumping in crores of rupees each year to construct drains and lay slabs. No agency, including the National Highways Authority of India, carried out pre-monsoon maintenance or reinforcement works on vulnerable stretches where potholes develop each year. Huge potholes have developed at Edapally Toll junction, Palarivattom bypass junction and Vytilla junction.

A PWD official said that the Edapally-Thevara road (which was re-laid hardly five years ago) would be re-laid again. “The work will have a five-year warranty. As per rules, we cannot do any maintenance work within the defect-liability period of six months. Taking this into account, the Government passed an order last week permitting us to fill potholes which need urgent attention, without going in for cumbersome tender formalities.”

Gaping potholes at Madhava Pharmacy Junction hinder traffic on Banerjee Road, MG Road, Shanmugham Road and South bridge. Experts asserted that road laid on proper specifications would not easily get ruined in the worst of rain.

Head of the Transportation Engineering wing at the College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram, Kuncheria P Isaac said that mastic asphalt was ideal to withstand the lateral strain and other problems seen at junctions. (Mastic asphalt is a type of asphalt which differs from dense graded asphalt (asphalt concrete) as it has higher bitumen (binder) content.) “Roads have to be raised and bituminous concrete laid in places where the water table is less than 50 cm from the road surface.”

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