In a first, Chandigarh adopts AI, GIS for smarter road development 

In a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at transparent, efficient, and need-based infrastructure development, the Chandigarh Administration has adopted cutting-edge Geographic Information System (GIS) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies for the planning and execution of urban road projects in the city.

The Engineering Department of the UT Administration has introduced, for the first time, a major advancement through Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven road identification for a comprehensive videographic survey of city roads and analysing AI to improve quality of roads by efficient planning of maintenance and development of road infrastructure in the city.

This will provide the detailed reports on the condition of roads, which will help in efficient planning for maintenance and development of the road infrastructure, UT Chief Engineer CB Ojha told The Tribune on Tuesday.

He said the AI-based surveys will also analyse the existing road safety signages to identify the shortcomings in road safety display signs, if any, to further enhance the safety of the road commuters.

To further strengthen planning and monitoring, Ojha said a comprehensive road data bank will be created as part of this initiative.

“Detailed road condition data, surveys, tenders and performance records will be maintained for review purposes. This will create a valuable historical record for evidence-based policy making and transparent governance,” he said.

The Chief Engineer revealed that initially, this project will be implemented on the V3 roads, which have been recently transferred to the UT Engineering Department by the Municipal Corporation. These roads will serve as a pilot project for the GIS–AI-based survey, ensuring that the lessons learnt can be scaled up for the citywide implementation in the coming days.

He highlighted that this technological integration will reshape urban governance, embedding transparency, accountability, and efficiency into the Administration’s infrastructure strategy while the regular manual field inspections will continue across all city roads for ensuring better quality infrastructure.

“Technology is transforming our ability to plan, tender, and monitor urban road projects with precision, efficiency, and accountability,” Ojha added.

Moving towards smart, accountable governance: Kataria 

Gulab Chand Kataria, Punjab governor-cum-UT administrator, said, “Chandigarh Administration’s integration of GIS and AI marks a significant stride towards smart, accountable, and cost-effective urban governance. With safety features, efficient monitoring, and an updated road data bank, this innovation will set new benchmarks for how city roads are planned, constructed, and maintained.”

Road network 

Total linear road length: 97.25 km

Road length due for recarpeting: 42.88 km

Tenders for recarpeting road length allotted: 10.8 km worth Rs 10.4 crore

Tenders under process and to be allotted by September 30: 32.1 km worth Rs 31.8 crore

Transferred roads

Recently, the MC transferred 275 km V3 roads, which divide the city sectors, to the UT Administration. As per maintenance norms, the resurfacing, restrengthening and recarpeting of roads were to be undertaken every five years, covering around 50 km every year, but the cash-strapped civic body failed to even repair these roads for the past over five years, resulting in the present state of broken roads.

 (Source: UT administration)