A concrete solution or A waste of money?

A concrete solution or A waste of money?

Herald Review May 4, 2014

While the public calls the Rs 72 cr contract to concretize and beautify the Miramar road a colossal waste of money, the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) is asking people to look at it as an investment.

LISA ANN MONTEIRO

The road was dug up last year for the laying of a sewage pipeline. A part of it was hot mixed in January to make it presentable for the Lusofonia Games. In February GTDC floated a tender for the concretization and beautification of the road. M Venkat Rao was awarded the contract at a cost of Rs 72 cr.

GSIDC officials say the road is being designed according to the draft master plan prepared for Panjim by LKS consultants.

“ We are implementing everything as per the plan,” one GSIDC official told Herald Review . The road, like other roads in the State is dug up each time for the laying of different utilities. Money is also spent before the International Film Festival each year to hot mix the road.

Concretization of the road, officials say will save residents from the regular inconvenience they are put through.

The road from Miramar circle to Raj Bhavan, being built in concrete, will be 11 meters wide with three lanes with newly built footpaths on either sides with a special cycle track on the seaward side. Once built in concrete, the road will not need to be dug for the laying of utilities anymore.

“ The basic idea is to organize the services so that there will be no more digging. Water, electricity, BSNL cables will all be moved to either side of the road. If there are any repairs required, all one will have to do is remove the pavers on the footpath and then put them back. Nobody should dig the road for the next fifty years,” the official said.

GSIDC used concrete for the first time in 2003 in the Canacona bus stand when it constructed the bus stand. It has used concrete in all of the bus stands built by it since— at Honda, Shiroda and Cuncolim among others. But the concrete road being built in Miramar, unlike the ones done at the bus stands, is being “ designed” very meticulously and scientifically, GSIDC says.

“ It’s not just about laying of concrete. For the foundation to be strong we have to dig one meter below to create a strong base. We first check the soil condition and its bearing capacity, and then based on this, other layers are designed. There is no steel so no question of corrosion arises.

There cannot and will not be any potholes.

Pavement Quality Concrete ( PQC) the highest grade of concrete will be used. This has never been done in Goa before,” the official said. He points out that the road inside Kala Academy too was built in concrete in 2004 for the first IFFI, and it hasn’t needed any maintenance for the past ten years. It was an investment and it has paid off, he says, and only that parking area needs to be tarred because it was not laid out in concrete.

The sewage pipeline laid at a depth of three to four metres in the new Miramar road will remain in the middle of the road and manholes will be maintained. The official says any work on the sewage line can take place through the man hole. “ What leakage can happen? The pipes are all thick HDB pipes which are sealed and welded tight. Sewage lines are maintained in the middle of the road even in other metropolitan cities that have concrete roads.” The three- lane road will not have a median in between and streetlights will also be on either sides of the road. These will be special LED lights, he says, which don’t have to be replaced and come with a warranty of seven years.

GSIDC does not intend to increase the width of the road because the plan is to reduce traffic on this road and develop the stretch into a leisure area where people will be able to use the footpaths and cycle track to walk and cycle. The cycle track— around three meters wide— will have a railing protecting cyclists from the traffic. There will also be parking spaces for cycles and other vehicles as well as a bus bay demarcated along the stretch. GSIDC is also planning toilets and wooden pathways leading to the beach but these don’t form part of the current contract. 

Also part of the contract is the road leading from NIO circle to the Dona Paula jetty. This will not be built in concrete but paved with granitic cobble stones. The GSIDC official said that vehicles will not be allowed to park at the Jetty area. Tourists can proceed on foot.

GSIDC justifies the cost of Rs 72 cr saying it is an investment. Only Rs 27 cr of the Rs 72 cr is being spent on the concrete road. It costs a mere Rs 4649 per square metre for the concrete road as opposed to Rs 3136 for a bituminous road. The cost difference is hardly a matter of Rs 8 crore the official says. “ Most metropolitan cities in India have resorted to concrete roads, shouldn’t we try the same in Goa? This is a permanent solution for this road.

We have so many drawings of this road and everything is being designed and planned very meticulously. Goa will also see for the first time a concrete paver which itself costs Rs 3 cr.

This paver ensures that there is a proper thickness level and a proper finish. It will ensure precision and will not leave room for human interference and error. But the concrete road is only one part of the entire contract.

The street furniture, shifting of utilities, footpaths, bus bay, parking area, cycle track, drainage, landscaping is all a part of the contract. The entire façade of the street from Miramar to Dona Paula will be changed. People will only be able to appreciate it once it’s done.” As part of the draft master plan, work is also on for the construction of the eastern road from Rua de Ourem to Dona Paula. Review Bureau