The Hindu              24.01.2014

Rs. 25 crore for road repairs

Deputy Commissioner of Davangere district S.T. Anjan Kumar said that one of the prominent reasons for road accidents in Davangere city was bad roads and the district administration had already initiated steps to repair the roads at a cost of Rs. 25 crore.

Inaugurating the ‘road safety week’ organised jointly by the police and the Regional Transport Office here today Mr. Anjan Kumar said that since the roads were in bad shape, people were unable to strictly abide by the traffic rules. He noted that incidents of two-wheelers meeting with accidents were on an increase in the city because of the innumerable potholes. Hence the district administration has resolved to give a facelift to the roads in the city.

Similarly, an amount of Rs.11 crore had been earmarked for repairing the Pune-Bangalore highway passing in the city, the DC said, adding that construction of a ring road upto Bada cross would be completed soon. Once the ring road is completed, movement of heavy vehicles such as trucks in the city could be avoided, he said. He also disclosed that a truck terminal would be constructed on the outskirts of the city to prevent trucks coming into the city particularly during the day. Different public works including construction of truck terminal would soon be taken up at a total cost of Rs. 65 crore, he said.

Besides bad roads, there was a lack of traffic sense among many people, the DC said, and called upon the police and RTO officials to educate people about traffic rules. The DC said there were more than three lakh vehicles in Davangere city and of it more than 60 per cent were two wheelers.

The Davangere City Corporation had bought certain equipments to discipline the vehicular movement in the city and people would be educated about the equipments before installation.

The Times of India               22.01.2014

Three new ways to keep roads intact in monsoon

PUNE: The civic body has given some serious thought to resurfacing the city's roads. Since many thoroughfares in the city crumble during the monsoon and angry citizens vent their ire against the civic body, the Pune Municipal Corporation, to maintain and enhance the quality of roads, has turned to several methods.

The civic body has completed work on roads in Gokhalenagar, Wakdewadi, Sahakarnagar, Bhusari Colony, Ideal Colony, Aundh-Baner, Ruturaj Society, Gultekdi and Parvati Darshan using the overlay method. It also plans to use a thin white topping method for another 77 km of roads by March 31.

"The civic body has to resurface tar roads every three to five years. Compared to the expenses incurred on resurfacing, the overlay method is more viable," said municipal commissioner Mahesh Pathak in his annual draft budget for 2014-15.

The PMC has two ways to concrete roads. In the overlay method, where the base is strong, concrete layers are directly laid over it. Where the base is weak, it is torn up, grouted and surfaced and then concretised.

Work on the 30-meter development plan road parallel to Baner-Balewadi highway and a 30-meter road in Kharadi have also begun. "The PMC has completed the road survey and identified roads which need immediate repair. The estimated cost for these repairs is Rs 38 crore. Roads in the city will be intact during monsoon if resurfacing and concreting work is completed before the rains," said Pathak.

The civic body has proposed the use of micro surfacing technology in 2015 to strengthen roads. "This technology helps maintain the quality of roads for five years after construction," said Pathak in his budget speech.

White topping

Micro surfacing