MMRDA takes the road less travelled

Finishes pre-monsoon repairs on express highways well before time for a change; hopes to avoid a repeat of last year's spate of accidents

The Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) seems to have finally realised that a stitch in time saves nine. Or in their case, timely repair of roads saves lives.

Unlike last year, when work on the express highways extended till May 31, this time the MMRDA completed all the concretisation and asphalt work applying chips of stones, laying and levelling tar in April, well before the deadline. This way, they hope there will be fewer accidents on both the highways.

Last year, the express highways had witnessed over 130 accidents during the monsoons. A committee set up to look into this found that the MMRDA had laid a 40 mm thick layer of mastic asphalt on worn out roads last year, as it is the only quick measure to reduce potholes. But the move backfired.

Explaining why that happened, a road expert said, "The hot mastic asphalt laid on the highways needs time to cool down.

Till it doesn't, it is not advisable to allow traffic on the roads. If the same work is done just before monsoons, then rain water makes the road slippery."

Ratnakar Gaikwad, metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA, said, "We decided to complete the work before the deadline to avoid problems during the monsoon."

Other precautions

About 90,000 vehicles ply on the highways daily. This year, MMRDA has asked them to reduce their speeds to 40 kmph and even put up orange-coloured boards displaying the speed limit.
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They have also used yellow thermo plastic strips and cat-eye glowers to guide drivers.