The material that was used by the Public Works Department as a quick fix to repair potholes on Western Express Highway developed cracks as soon as the rains resumed
The rainproof solution for the never-ending pothole problem on the busy Western Express Highway (WEH) has hit a bad road. The construction material that was used by the Public Works Department (PWD) on July 15 to fill the potholes on the highway proved ineffective after the heavy rains resumed. The officials applied the mixture on the 50-metre stretch ahead of the domestic airport flyover.
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Authorities have plugged the potholes with paver blocks at Santacruz
“We used it on that stretch on experimental basis, but the technology was not useful. The layer developed cracks and the material, at a few places, even got washed away in the rain. We had kept an observation period of 3-4 weeks,” said a senior PWD officer, on condition of anonymity. He added that had the experiment proved to be a success, they were mulling using it at other places. A senior PWD engineer also informed that the material was not of good quality and thus was not working.
The WEH connecting Dahisar and Bandra is one of the important arterial roads that was left moon-faced after the lethargic PWD officials failed to do the repair work required to prepare the road for the heavy monsoon. After facing flak for the pothole problem, the PWD started filling up the potholes on WEH, but the rains interrupted the work. To add to the commuter woes, they did not even clean up the scattered stone crush mixture.
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As a quick fix, they used paver blocks, which proved to be a headache. Hence, the government agency contacted the Thane-based company CCRT Pvt Ltd, who claimed to have made a material using a sort of cement that dries up in 30 minutes and attains its full strength in two hours flat.
The material known as CCM™-POTCRETE could also be used on airport tarmac; however, it failing the test is a setback to the PWD, which now plans to wait for the monsoon to get over with to start the repairing and resurfacing work using their tried and tested materials.
Official says
PWD Engineer S S Deshmukh said, “We are taking the best possible efforts to fill the potholes on the WEH. One of the reasons why we would avoid using it (on a permanent basis) is because of its high cost.”
The company was not paid for supplying the material as it was done on a trial basis. Interestingly, the material was used on the busy highway for the first time without having undergone any quality check in Mumbai to substantiate the claims of the company.
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