12 May,2011 07:29 AM IST | | Harneet Kaur Bhusari
Civic body pays scant heed to advisory panel, most junior engineers unaware of its recommendations for pavements
No wonder every monsoon it is the same the old story of traffic congestion and water-logging. Most junior-level engineers in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)u00a0-- by their own admissionu00a0-- are unaware of the specific norms stipulated by the standing technical advisory committee (STAC) for the construction of flexible and cement concrete pavements.
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Neglected? Blocks of broken pavements are common on the Western
Express Highway. File pic
The STAC, constituted by the civic body to study and assess the condition of roads in 2004, recommends flexible (see box) and interlocking cement concrete block pavements for roads below which water conduits and sewerage are located. On the other hand it says cement concrete pavements is a good option for sidewalks at intersections with heavy traffic, especially if there are no service pipelines below it.
"I don't think all the junior engineers are aware of this, but the chief engineers have complete knowledge, and we work according to what they say," said Sangeeta Chaugale, junior road engineer of H-West Ward. "Ideally, cement concrete pavements should be laid on the Manual Gonsalves Road in Bandra because of the heavy traffic there. However, I assure you that soon after the monsoon, work to lay concrete footpaths will begin. So the people there won't be stuck in traffic congestion."
Khar resident Hitesh Chugh said, "Pavements near intersections are rapidly damaged when vehicles whirl around the bend, sometimes even dripping diesel. Concrete roads are a must here because flexible pavements with conventional surfacing atrophy fast."
Deputy Commissioner of Police (traffic) Nandkumar Chaugale said all their appeals to the BMC to repair dilapidated pavements had fallen on deaf ears. "We have been informing the BMC about the broken pavement blocks on the Western Express Highway junctions, but to no avail. The situation on the Eastern Express Highway is no different," Chaugale said. "Besides, we do not need to notify them. The onus is on the BMC to inspect roads and pavements from time-to-time and take corrective measures. They also have their own traffic department to look into such matters, but the problem persists."
The Other Side
RN Kulkarni, chief engineer, BMC (road) refused to comment on the norms stipulated by the STAC. On the condition of roads he said, "Western Express Highway and Eastern Express Highway does not come under us. It was handed over to the Public Works Department long ago and neither the MMRDA nor the BMC is responsible anymore."
Flexibleu00a0footpaths
Flexible pavements have the base of broken stone pieces either compacted u00a0into place or glued together with bitumen to form u00a0asphalt.u00a0In order to maintain workability, the stones are usually less than 1.5 inches in size and often less than 1 inch.
