6-km stretch of Airport Road closed

Akash Ghai

Tribune News Service

Mohali, September 18

Finally, a 6-km-long stretch of Airport Road, from Airport Chowk to the Banur-Landran road T-point, was closed for traffic today.

The GMADA authorities took the decision to close the stretch in the light of fatal accidents on the road, which is unfit for use. Chandigarh Tribune had highlighted the issue in its columns today.

If the GMADA authorities are to be believed, the stretch in question is beyond repairs. “The road has been “founded on black cotton soil”, on which no road can survive,” said a senior official of GMADA.

According to the design specifications, the road was to be constructed after digging a 1-metre-deep trench by removing black cotton soil, and then filling it up with “sandy strata”. “Apparently, the trench was not dug and the road was constructed on black cotton soil,” said the official on condition of anonymity, indicating embezzlement of funds and irregularities in the construction of the road.

Ravi Bhagat, Chief Administrator of GMADA, said the road was beyond repairs due to technical reasons as a result of which GMADA decided to close the stretch for traffic to check further mishaps on it.

“When water seeps into the road and reaches the black cotton soil, the soil swells. It either breaks the road or develops mounds on it. If we carry out repair work or patch work, it will be of no use again,” said an engineer of GMADA.

The official also indicated that the thickness of layers of gravel and other material were not as per the specifications and substandard material was used in the construction of the road.

Crores of rupees were spent on the construction of the stretch, which has virtually gone down the drain. Now, the GMADA authorities apparently are in no mood to “waste” more public funds by carrying out repair work on the road.

“It seems the only solution left with us is to wipe out the entire stretch in question and reconstruct the road again,” said the GMADA authorities.

The reconstruction of road will require nearly Rs 100 crore. A Vigilance probe is under way to detect “corruption” during the construction of Airport Road.

GMADA finds fault with CRRI report

GMADA, which had roped in Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) by paying Rs 25 lakh to get the road examined and prepare a detailed report on faults and substandard material used, if any, expressed dissatisfaction over its report sent recently.

Sources said in its report, the CRRI stated that by and large everything was found to be fine and heavy traffic was the main issue on Airport Road. “We are surprised with the report, which is not acceptable. There is no heavy traffic on the road while the CRRI has stated that five trucks travel on the road per minute. Apparently it (CRRI) has ignored several key issues,” said a senior GMADA official.

Chief Administrator Ravi Bhagat said the CRRI had been asked to revisit the road, re-examine it and prepare a fresh report. GMADA has also got a sample of Airport Road checked by another agency. “The report of the agency is entirely different from the CRRI report,” said the GMADA official.