A public notice by the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) requesting citizens to "drive slowly" for a month on the Atal bridge stirred a controversy Saturday over the road quality of the Rs 300-crore flyover. While VMC has claimed that it is undertaking the work of "seal-coating" the asphalt concrete road for maintenance, citizen groups submitted a memorandum to Municipal Commissioner Dilip Kumar Rana to stop the resurfacing citing fear of "fatal accidents". "The bridge sees traffic moving at a high-speed and therefore, from a safety point of view, the seal coat is a bad idea as it makes the road slippery and accident-prone. In the case of the bridge, there are several exit slopes, where friction is a must. We have written to the VMC to stop this mindless resurfacing immediately to prevent fatal accidents," said senior advocate and former Congress leader Shailesh Amin. Touted to be the state's longest flyover, the Atal bridge connects Manisha Chowkdi to Genda Circle. "For the upkeep of the road surface of the Atal Bridge that connects Genda Circle to Manisha Chowkdi, the VMC has undertaken the work of liquid seal coating of the surface between May 6 and June 6, 2023. It is most effective to layer the seal coat during summers, following which, sand will be scattered on the road as per the MORTH Specifications. Automobile drivers are requested to drive slowly, considering the road safety and to avoid accidents over the flyover," the notice, issued by the executive engineer of the bridge project and published in newspapers, read. However, citizen groups mocked the exercise of seal-coating as "putting make-up" to cover the substandard quality of the road. Vishwamitri Bachao Andolan, a citizen group led by Amin, submitted a memorandum to the VMC Commissioner. "Asphalt concrete roads are meant to be the finest road surfaces and should not need any "make-up" of seal coats and sand layers. The purpose of having high-quality asphalt concrete is that it allows the perfect grip and friction between vehicle tyres and the surface of the road," said Amin. He also urged an inquiry into the potholes and broken patches on the road surface of the bridge that was inaugurated in December 2022. "The bridge was inaugurated on December 25, 2022, to mark Good Governance Day on the birthday of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. However, within a week, the road appeared to have developed broken patches and potholes. How can the material be so substandard that it requires a month-long seal coat activity in under six months of opening? A committee should be formed with experts from Gujarat Engineering Research Institute (GERI) and the Road and Bridges department," Amin said. However, VMC Chief City Engineer Alpesh Majmundar said the civic body's contractor for the bridge has undertaken a planned maintenance of the bridge as per the usual process of maintaining roads in the city. "Experts of the subject are aware that the asphalt concrete roads have smaller pores than their natural texture. This seal coat is a layer that adds protection to the surface to increase its life. The contractor is performing the maintenance activity as part of the usual practice, not just on the bridge but for all roads in the city. Adding a layer of sand after the seal coat is a prescribed technical practice. The VMC has, in order to maintain transparency about the road quality, also uploaded the guarantee dates of roads on the website. So far, we have not received a single complaint," Majmundar told The Indian Express. He added that the Atal bridge road has a guarantee of 10 years and the contractor would be undertaking the maintenance at no extra cost as part of the contract. "VMC has issued the notice as a caution to drivers to drive carefully in the interest of safety," he said.
