Ongoing highway expansion work is one of the major reasons why roads are being perceived to be in a pathetic condition, PWD’s Principal Chief Engineer Uttam Parsekar told The Goan.
Goa has a total of 5,000 kilometers including National Highways, State Highways, the Major District Roads and village roads, according to him, the nearly 262 kilometers of “National Highways” come in the jurisdiction Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) jurisdiction.
The cost of maintaining these national highways is borne by the Central Ministry and funds are routed by it from its office in Mumbai. The State PWD is only the conduit to execute and maintain them and pockets 3% of the costs of work for the task. Parsekar said, the expansion of the highways on a 100 kilometer stretch is currently in progress and around seven agencies were involved who are also responsible for also maintaining them.
Norms require these highways to be between 45 and 60 meters. But in Goa’s case since these were notified only in 1971 as national highways, allowance was made for them to be only 25-30 meters wide out of consideration for people whose homes already existed along these roads. “What is happening right now is that because of the expansion work, the contractors have made temporary diversions for traffic to flow which do not have full crust thickness, because they are only temporary and have to be demolished later,” Parsekar said, adding that it is for this reason that they have potholes.
He however said that it’s just a “transition phase”. Another factor that Parsekar cited for increased number of potholes on roads is the digging and subsequent haphazard filling done by the various utility companies.
“Near the Zuari Bridge itself 175 inches of rains were recorded. We had dry spells of hardly four days at a stretch which is not enough to carry out repair work as the concrete gets washed away unless it is dry,” he said.
“Roads are being dug up to lay Reliance cables, the Defence Communications Network and the gas lines. When roads are dug it takes time to restore them,” Parsekar said, adding that sewage network works are also being carried out in different regions of the State in Ponda, Bardez and Salcete.
“This sewage network is 5-6 meters underground, so when filled to restore the roads, it takes time to settle down,” Parsekar said.
He claimed that roads only in the town areas of Goa were bad and there was no problem with village roads.
“In rural areas, even where it has rained over 200 inches, roads are pothole free because traffic intensity is less.”
REASON FOR
POTHOLES
“What is happening right now is that because of the expansion work, the contractors have made temporary diversions for traffic to flow which do not have full crust thickness, because they are only temporary and have to be demolished later”
