Newer technologies such as white-topping are being actively considered by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in its quest to remedy bad roads.
Since 2011-12, the Municipal Corporation has spent more than Rs. 295 crore on periodical maintenance and renewal coats on bitumen tar roads.
However, officials blame excessive rainfall, water stagnation at valley points, sewer overflows, cutting of roads without proper restoration, inadequate camber and drainage system for repeated damage to roads.
“This year, so far we had 700 mm rainfall and an extent of 63 km of road has been damaged with around 19,000 pot-holes,” Engineer-in-Chief R. Dhan Singh told the council meeting.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has been considering modern technologies such as white-topping, which involved strengthening and rehabilitating deteriorated asphalt pavements by Plain Cement Concrete (PCC) overlay, he said. Known to function with longer life, this has been proposed on a pilot basis on the lines of the corporations of Bangalore, Jaipur and Chennai.
This modern methodology has to be tried with a number of pilot projects, and it involves removal of layers from the existing road and laying them afresh with the Plain Cement Concrete and allowing required time to settle down.
“It could be a good solution to effective rehabilitation and maintenance strategy. We want to implement it at Lakdikapul and Kacheguda to start with,” Mr. Singh said.
The urban body realises the need to improve the level of service to cater to future traffic demand and upgrading of various stretches.
A comprehensive development of important arterial and sub-arterial roads in the city for upgrading roads has been proposed which will incorporate side drains, storm water drains and permanent ducts for future expansion of underground cables.
In three phases, a total of 90 roads, running to a length of 300 km will be covered under the comprehensive development, the officials said.
The total cost of the project has been pegged at Rs. 636.98 crore, and the detailed project reports for 60 roads are being prepared for a length of 144.66 km.
Since 2011-12, the Municipal Corporation has spent more than Rs. 295 crore on periodical maintenance and renewal coats on bitumen tar roads.
