BRO expert examines critical sites on NH-5

Tribune News Service

Ambika Sharma

Solan, November 11

In a bid to provide a permanent solution to restore the damaged stretches on the 20-km Parwanoo-Dharampur section of National Highway (NH)-5, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has roped in an expert from the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) to examine the critical sites.

Lack of slope-protection measures

• As many as 176 defects were identified over an area of 6,485m on the 20-km stretch of the Parwanoo-Dharampur section of the highway, which was affected by landslides during the torrential rains
• The existing slope angle varied from 50 to 85 degree with the slope height varying from 10 to 100m. The lack of slope protection has been noted as the major factor which led to loose boulders and soil sliding down from the cut slopes
• BRO Chief Engineer Jitendra Prasad visited the severely affected sites — Chakki Mod, Sanwara, Dharampur, Dosarka, Jabli — earlier this week

BRO Chief Engineer Jitendra Prasad visited the severely-affected sites — Chakki Mod, Sanwara, Dharampur, Dosarka, Jabli — earlier this week. He examined these six sites, where torrential rains had inflicted colossal damage to the road on the hill as well as the valley-side.

Anand Dahiya, Project Director at the NHAI, confirmed that Prasad recently examined the critical sites on the Parwanoo-Dharampur section of the NH-5.

“The chief engineer will interact with an expert committee — led RK Pandey, former ADG and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways — that has already examined the critical sections of the highway. The BRO official will also submit his recommendations for the restoration of the road soon,” Dahiya said.

The other members of the five-member committee were CS P Ojha, Professor at the Department of Civil Engineering, IIT-Roorkee; Minimol Korulla, Geotech Expert; Dr Dharmendra Gill, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT-Mandi, and VK Panwar, CGM, Geotech. They had examined the highway on September 9 and had recommended several remedial measures for restoring the critically-affected sites on the highway.

As many as 176 defects were identified over an area of 6,485m on the 20-km stretch of the Parwanoo-Dharampur section of the highway, which was affected by landslides during the torrential rains. The existing slope angle varied from 50 to 85 degree with the slope height varying from 10 to 100m.

The lack of slope protection has been noted as the major factor which led to loose boulders and soil sliding down from the cut slopes. The committee has recommended several measures, including creating of dynamic rockfall barriers to arrest the rolling boulders from flowing down.

The NHAI is taking opinions from various experts before beginning the permanent restoration of the road to ensure that no further damage is caused due to subsequent rains.

The officials at the NHAI are now monitoring the condition of the road and slopes to detect potential problems while also reviewing the provisions of a detailed project report, which has been prepared for slope protection.

As per the committee’s report, sinking was observed on the valley-side probably due to improper compaction of dumped soil and poor construction consideration at some sites, where only one lane of the road had been settled.

A comprehensive solution to protect the valley as well as hill-side along with streamlining the drainage has been stressed at these critical sites.

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