Repair work on 275-km V3 roads in Chandigarh finally underway

The Chandigarh Administration has announced the official commencement of patchwork on V3 roads across the city. This critical initiative follows the formal transfer of these roads from the Municipal Corporation (MC) to the engineering department of the Chandigarh Administration. This move was necessitated by MC’s financial constraints, which had led to the prolonged neglect of these vital sector-dividing roads. For the past two years, no major repair work had been carried out, leading to a significant number of potholes and deteriorating road surfaces.

The UT engineering department has started working on repairing and making motorable the 275-km V3 roads, which divide the city sectors, under the directive of Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria.

“We are committed to providing the people of Chandigarh with smooth and safe road infrastructure,” UT Chief Engineer CB Ojha said.

“Our teams have already started the patch work, and we are working on a mission mode to ensure the pothole repairs and subsequent recarpeting of due roads before the onset of winter.”

In a pioneering effort, the UT Administration will adopt Geographic Information System (GIS) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies during the repair and maintenance process. The V3 roads will serve as a pilot project for a comprehensive videographic survey that will use AI to identify and analyse road conditions, enabling more efficient and need-based planning and execution of repairs. This initiative aims to embed transparency and accountability into the city’s infrastructure strategy.

Tenders for the patch/repair work have already been awarded and started. The Administration has requested the public to cooperate during road repair work to ensure timely and smooth completion by maintaining the required quality standard during the work execution.

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 km

 V3 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.