Mumbai: ‘Roads that fail strength test to be redone by contractor’

AMC Abhijit Bangar inspects the cylindrical road sample

The BMC has decided to conduct a strength test of all new concrete roads with the assistance of IIT Bombay. If the road is not constructed according to the set standard, the contractor will have to repair the road to meet the quality requirements.

The BMC had started concreting of the 324 km of asphalt roads in January 2023. Of that, concreting of 29.37 km has been completed to date. BMC has decided to conduct a strength test (core test) of these roads. Under the initiative, the BMC completed tests of the Manjrekar Wadi Road in Andheri East and Dikshit Marga Road in Vile Parle on Monday. These samples have been sent to the IIT Bombay lab.

A core testing machine

According to an official, the strength test is based on ratio of material used, durability, homogeneity and load-bearing capacity. The official said, "A cylindrical block section of the cement concrete road is punched out using a core testing machine. This sample is sent to the IIT-B laboratory to test the strength of the concrete portion. If the road is not constructed as per the standard set by the BMC, we can ask the contractor to repair the road."

The test will ensure that the quality of the roads is maintained. Through this exercise, the contractors will also have an obligation to do more quality work. "It will send out a message to contractors that substandard work will not be tolerated. Such quality tests can also be useful in controlling all work being undertaken," said Abhijit Bangar, additional municipal commissioner.