Motorists have frequently been confused due to the height differences between concrete and asphalt lanes
The work is ongoing on a 121-km stretch of NH-48
In a bid to keep the flow of traffic smooth and avoid confusion among road users on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway— where the white-topping work is underway on a 121-km stretch—the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has installed important signage like “Go Slow”, “Traffic Diversion” and “Work in progress”. These installations are a welcome measure, as motorists have frequently encountered accidents due to the height differences between concrete and asphalt lanes.
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The manager (technical) of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway of NHAI, Sumeet Kumar, said, “The white-topping work is underway at around 10 different locations on NH-48. The contractor has implemented necessary safety measures, including diversion signage, blinkers, delineators, and traffic wardens. Ramps have also been installed at the end of the white-topping and at regular intervals to facilitate the safe ascent and descent of vehicles.”
Kumar further told mid-day that the white-topping work is complete on more than 71 km out of the 121-km stretch on NH-48, and “we are hopeful that the ongoing white-topping project will be completed by April 2025”. “White-topping has been taken up as a long-term solution to the issue of potholes and maintenance requirements. High-priority stretches, where damages were noticed during last monsoon, were taken up first and white-topping on 71 km is completed,” he added.
“White-topping is done in a lane-by-lane manner, as full-width white-topping is not allowed by the administration, due to heavy traffic and difficulty in managing both sides’ traffic on one side of the carriageway,” he added. Speaking about the potholes on the asphalt lanes, Kumar claimed that “all these damages have been repaired during a dry spell in the monsoon. The maintenance of the bituminous stretch, where white-topping couldn’t be done, has been taken up on war footing.”
“Additionally, at some locations, lanes with white-topping were damaged due to premature traffic openings by road users. For instance, when a heavy vehicle is stuck in a traffic jam, drivers often do not wait for traffic personnel to regulate the flow; instead, they attempt to drive over the sections that need more time to properly open. These damages are also being repaired by the contractor,” he added.
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