To deal with potholes, Pune municipal commissioner seeks guidance of central road research institute
Pune: With the onset of Monsoon, roads in Pune have been riddled with potholes making them dangerous to drive.
To get rid of potholes, now Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) commissioner Kunal Kumar has written to the New Delhi-based Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), a premier national laboratory established in 1952, a constituent of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is engaged in carrying out research and development projects on design, construction and maintenance of roads and runways etc.
It’s the first time that PMC has sought the help of the CRRI. Officials from PMC told Punekar News that every year they are spending Rs 10-15 crores on maintenance of roads. The road length in PMC limits is about 2,500 km, of which 300 km are concrete roads, 200 km are made of thin white topping and remaining are made with bituminous roads.
Read the letter addressed CRRI director Prof Satish Chandra by PMC commissioner Kunal Kumar.
Dear Dr. Satish Chandra,
I am Kunal Kumar, IAS officer of the 1999 batch and presently working as the Municipal Commissioner of Pune. As you are aware, Pune is leading the Smart Cities Mission through its vision and implementation, exemplified by the fact that the Hon’ Prime Minister also was in Pune recently to inaugurate key projects of the city. While we are moving towards envisioning the smart future of the city, there are some issues of deep concern. One of these is the recurrent failures of road infra which is created every year through the use of a huge amount of public money. I am writing this mail to you in this regard.
There has been varying degrees of failure of some of the bituminous roads in the city which were constructed / renovated 2-3 months back. The roads have developed potholes and severe damage to the surface including melting of surface bitumen. Some roads constructed last year have also developed potholes. This damage has happened after rains for only about 15 days and that too not very heavy. Problem of potholes is also being faced with older roads. In fact potholes on road have been a regular phenomenon witnessed every year. In fact, this is sadly the situation in most cities in the country.
PMC has decided to carry out a thorough investigation and analysis of the problems being faced with the intention of bringing about necessary improvements to avoid recurrence of the problems. Various aspects such as material used, methodology adopted, process followed, compliance with applicable technical specifications and codes of practice etc. have to be thoroughly checked / reviewed as part of the investigation. We would like CRRI to take up this investigation in Pune.
CRRI as the expert agency appointed for this purpose, will be required to submit a detailed report giving diagnosis of the problem and recommendations for corrective measures to be taken to prevent such a situation in future.
Scope of work
The scope of the investigation shall include the following activities:
Visit to the various sites on bituminous and concrete roads identified by PMC for investigation of typical cases of failure / defects and also some other roads in good condition for the purpose of comparative analysis. Photographs of typical failure spots / damaged areas should be taken.
Detailed investigation of each such typical road failure case to determine the probable reasons for failure which may include but not be limited to road design deficiency, faulty construction methodology, poor material quality, wrong treatment or process, poor quality base work, inadequate layer thickness, lack of camber, slope to the road, lack of storm water drainage, water accumulation, poor filling of trenches, cross cuts, failure of utility reinstatement work (especially around chambers), lack of material inspection at site, in process inspection, final inspection, poor workmanship, lack of proper supervision etc.
Taking trial pits/ trial cores on each bituminous road at random locations along the road (approx. 50 m intervals) and verification of layer thicknesses in the road crust vis-a-vis the design cross section and Tender / contract provisions.
Collection of samples of various road layers by taking trial pits in the road/ trial cores in the bituminous road (both for damaged roads and those in good condition) as also from any existing pot holes, filled up pot holes, reinstated trenches etc. and conducting the following tests on the samples in the laboratory :
Bitumen content for bituminous layers – compare with that of specification
Gradation for bituminous layers – compare with that of specification
Gradation for granular layers – compare with that of specification
Tests on aggregates used for various layers – Water absorption, Specific Gravity, Flakiness/ Elongation index, Soundness Testing, Abrasion Value, Impact value, Aggregate stripping value – compare with that of specification
Density of the Bituminous layers -– compare with that of specification
Stability and Flow values on Bituminous cores – compare with that of specification
In situ density of Granular layers (GSB, WMM etc.)
CBR, PI values for GSB and WMM layers
CBR value for sub-grade murrum material
OMC/ MDD, PI values of the sub-grade murrum layers
A summary table should be submitted giving recorded values, specified parameters with tolerance and whether the values are within acceptable tolerance limits or not.
- Study of concrete roads (TWT / UTWT concrete overlay on existing BT roads, new rigid concrete roads with full excavation & adjacent road / shoulder portion with paver blocks) and investigation of issues such as higher level of road surface than that of adjoining road side properties in case of overlay, sinking of concrete slab due to poor base work, improper curing, cracks in concrete, surface pitting leading to deeper holes, durability of sealant filling at joints, jagged edges which progressively crumble to form wider gaps, improper joints between concrete road and adjacent portion with paving blocks at road junctions /shoulders etc. Such issues affect life and performance of road as also safety of road users (especially 2-wheeler riders and pedestrians).
- Taking trial pits/ trial cores in the concrete road, collection of samples, field inspection and lab tests as necessary for fulfilling the intent and purpose of the investigation.
Review of the bituminous / concrete road design, drawings (L section, Cross section etc.) and other construction records (Crust design report, Mix design, Job mix, Daily progress report, Quantity statements, Plant reports, Batch reports, records of thickness and temperature measurements, compaction etc. as applicable) related to the road under investigation.
Investigate and provide expert comments including lacunae/ shortcomings for the following for both bituminous and concrete roads –
a. Adequacy of the road design
b. Material quality used for road construction
c. Material and in process inspection procedures
d. Construction methodology for roads
e. Methodology adopted for filling up of potholes on road
f. Methodology adopted for reinstatement of road portion dug up for work related to below ground utilities or any other reason
g. Methodology adopted for renovation / resurfacing / overlay
h. Methodology adopted for installing paving blocks in shoulder area of road and at road junctions
i. Road maintenance methods / procedures in general and especially with respect to cracked up, sunken, dislodged portions, surface water drainage to SWD system
Investigate the supervision reports, site test reports, field testing reports, material laboratory testing reports and provide expert comments and probable reasons for failure based on actual testing and analysis of sampled material from road sites.
Review the measurement books and measurements at the failure locations and provide comments based on field investigation and findings of all above forensic analysis
Prepare a comprehensive road wise report on the failure investigation pointing out the reasons for premature failure of the roads based on detailed technical and scientific analysis with supporting data, non-compliance with applicable standards, specifications, codes of practice, non-adoption of best practices, non-conformity with QA requirements etc. pertaining to every aspect of the road project including projects of construction of new roads, renovation / resurfacing / overlay of existing roads, filling up of potholes and reinstatement of roads dug up for any reason.
Select at random two road projects completed or in advanced stage of progress and peer review the design, DPR preparation and Tender / contract with a view to recommending administrative reforms, needed if any, in preparing DPRs / contract. The objective is lesson learning for enhancing quality in design, surveys, investigations and execution.
Give recommendations for remedial measures to be taken as well as correct practices to be followed to prevent recurrence of the problems faced and also for any changes needed in the Tender / contract specification
