Work on IT-BT corridor on track

Work on IT-BT corridor on track
Some much-needed civic infrastructure is falling in place here
The Times of India


Airport Road, which never had the concept of a pavement, now boasts of spanking new compaction and pressure capacitated pavements certified by experts. Hosur Road, one of the worst affected in last September-October's deluge has a drain, including shoulder drains, to prevent water-logging. And as a pre-emptive measure, drains and pavement openings have been provided with ducts to avoid road cutting by private players in future. All thanks to the BCC's initiative to set right things in the famed ITBT corridors between Indiranagar and Hosur Road.

Says Jayaram, BCC Commissioner (East), "we have taken up road and pavement restoration works in the ITBT corridor at a cost of Rs 37 crores. Relaying of roads, removal of disturbed and damaged interlocking blocks, fixing pre-cast drain covers, bus bays and laying PVC pipeline in sidewalks are some of the works we have taken up and all the works will be completed by March. We are maintaining a daily work schedule dairy and constantly monitoring the works being carried out by the Karnataka Land Army Corporation (KLAC). We are happy that we are sticking to deadlines".

"The KLAC, which has the task of upgrading eleven select roads, has thought up a fresh design for the roads with specifications better than those laid down by the Indian Road Congress. Also, they maintain that the roads will have a time-span of three to five years during which time the stretches would not need repairs at all", he said, and added that the public-private partnership model has worked well with a few IT companies coming forward in funding the lighting on Hosur Road beyond BCC limits.

Says S V Venkatesh Murthy, Joint Director, KLAC (BCC Division), "the quality aspect will be given much emphasis in all our projects. While preparing the subgrade and to tackle any undulation, 4-5 inches of mud and gravel has been laid to level it, and then proper compaction by machine is done. Then interlocking cobble blocks are laid and pressed using a German machine that ensures proper compaction. All the materials used here are tendered and machine-made. These materials are tested and even test reports are given to us. We have also provided shoulder drains along the existing drains. The water won't run on the asphalted roads, thereby increasing the life of the roads".