Surat: The Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) has identified some of the major reasons for extensive damage to the city roads. Officials said roads older than three to five years have suffered maximum damages. More so, according to them, the major reason for damage is continuous high traffic movement on a small stretch of a road.The issues like perennial digging for one utility service or other and setting up trenches complicate the situation further. When construction for some flyovers or other bridges is happening, it is only the small portion of the road which is utilised by vehicles that results in loosing of the upper surface.Last year, the SMC’s standing committee had decided to fix the responsibility on supervisors of the engineering department along with contractors for shoddy repairs and re-carpeting. However, it turned out to be hollow threat as no action has been taken against any of them till now. At the time of filling tenders, the contractors quote less amount to win the contract. At the time of execution, they use low-grade material for patchwork of the potholes and in re-carpeting the road, the officials said.Experts believe that the civic body is not applying internationally recognized scientific method for road re-carpeting. Here, the roads are re-carpeted based on visual inspection. The visual inspection provides the surface condition and not the sub-surface damages. The minimum repetition of re-carpeting of roads is five years set by the SMC. Beyond this period, if the road requires repair, it has to have the consent of the executive engineer of the respective municipal zone.“There are four parameters for road construction — design, quality control, workmanship and proper maintenance. These have individual as well as collective effects on road management,” an expert from Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology (SVNIT) said.For the first time, the city saw massive road cave-ins at several places in Puna and Sitanagar areas. Cave-ins are common in Varachha. Road are laid on dry soil with a lot of sand. The city’s soil is not moist, but it is the substandard material mixed which has resulted in cave-ins.

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