Redesigning roads: BCC faces uphill task

Redesigning roads: BCC faces uphill task
The Times of India

Bangalore: A design revamp and paradigm shift are on the anvil for Bangalore’s battered roads. If, at some places, road-widening is touted as a panacea for traffic and infrastructure woes, redesigning roads, keeping in mind the changing traffic volume, is billed as a cure-all.

About time too — the last time roads were done up in the city was in 1999; 250 km of arterial roads were targeted under the Municipal Bond Scheme. Urban planners agree it is a tough task to revamp roads now, given the radically changed demographics and volume of traffic.

The statistics staring at authorities are daunting too. The roads have to accommodate traffic in excess of 21 lakh (21,85,000 vehicles to be precise). Adding to the chock-a-block situation is the fact that 600 vehicles are being added to traffic volume everyday.

Explains a BCC official in the engineering department: “To find out the stability of existing roads, there is a test done, the Benkleman Beam Test, which will give the deflection for a certain quantum of the road. The weaker the road, the stronger the deflection.’’ Apparently, the prime factors that decide the kind of blueprint roads would be conferred with depend on three factors — volume of traffic, design period and stability of the existing surface.

Posterity has shown the superficial work done in the past: A typical scenario would be of pothole-ridden roads being done only on the surface, acting like a stop-gap arrangement. With a spell of rain, the shoddiness would be exposed. ‘The thickness of an arterial road is usually four layers of 50 mm each,’’ says the BCC official. Incidentally, four months ago, the Lok Ayukta had done a surprise check and tested the thickness of the road. It was found to be five times lower than the prescribed level.

Plea to industries: Extending the concept of public-private-partnership, the BCC on Saturday met various industrialists suggesting that they develop a few roads on a pilot basis.

The suggestion was made when people in the industry sector said roads had to be revised as per technical specifications.