Relief from a bumpy ride seems far-fetched for motorists this monsoon

Motorists are likely to have a nightmarish experience while navigating the city roads this year as well if the findings of the pre-monsoon audit carried out by Hindustan Times along with three independent experts and civic officials are anything to go by.

An inspection of four chronic waterlogging spots – B A Road, Mahapalika Road, Chembur Circle or Paranjpole Junction, and S V Road – where the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) claims to have paid much attention to make them monsoon-ready, has thrown a different picture.

The overall maintenance of B A Road in Dadar TT is quite commendable. However, the experts have pointed to the junction of this road, which has been recently concretised, where loose gravel could pose a threat to vehicle users.

D K Pathak, one of the experts, said, “The overall condition of the road is good. But there are certain portions where the surface is uneven. The asphalt passages indicate sharp ridges, while small potholes have been formed because of the haphazard execution of utility repair works. These faults are likely to cause motorists to slip and fall.” Pathak is a former deputy engineer with the storm water drains department of the BMC, who retired in 2009.

Civic officials, however, claimed that since a major portion of the junction was made of concrete the chances of having a large number of potholes would be less.

“On concrete roads, the surface is usually roughened by contractors who use asphalt and mastic to fill utility holes and trenches. We have already acted against those contractors who have not done the levelling of the road surface properly and the process of inspection is still on,” an official said.

Mahapalika Road, outside Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and the BMC headquarters, was not in a good state, the experts said. Due to the ongoing Metro construction works, the portions adjacent to this road are being dug up, which is not a very promising sign for motorists during rain.

“This is a road with heavy traffic. The wearing course is worn out with the aggregates exposed. To avoid further deterioration during monsoon, a 50mm premix bitumen carpet must be laid and rolled,” said Charles Simoes, one of HT’s experts, who is a civil and structural engineer with nearly 35 years of experience.

A civic official said the rough surface was caused by frequent patchwork. “The Metro construction work is going on, as a result of which, we are unable to carry out the full concretisation of the road. Throughout the year we carry out regular maintenance of this road to make sure there are no potholes or unattended gaps,” the official said.

The experts did not have a favourable opinion of Chembur Circle or Paranjpole Junction as well. This junction is on the northern end of the Eastern Freeway and vehicles headed towards south Mumbai from the Eastern suburbs and Thane must pass through this circle. Like the other two roads, potholes and sharp edges of asphalt and concrete were pointed out here by the experts.

Vidya Vaidya, who has been part of various resident welfare associations and cultural forums, and was one of the HT’s experts, said, “There are signs of damage on the surface of the road, which is mainly caused by heavy vehicles passing through this junction. Besides, the maintenance of this road leaves much to be desired.”

Civic officials present at the spot, however, had a different take. They claimed that there had been no waterlogging on this road in the last two years.

A significant portion of S V Road, which connects Bandra and Dahisar and sees heavy traffic during the peak hours, seemed to have come off because of the ongoing Metro works.

Simoes said, “The junction with heavy traffic has many interruptions in the wearing course. Premix bitumen carpet of 50mm is recommended for the entire junction, and both north-bound and south-bound lanes, to avoid deterioration during monsoon.”

The four roads were selected by HT after careful consideration of the problems pointed out by citizens over the past few years, the amount of money spent by the BMC on their repairs and maintenance, and the importance of each road in terms of proximity to landmarks and connectivity to some of the key locations in the city.

The BMC had in its annual budget for 2022-23 allotted ₹2,200 crore for road repair works.