Sir,

It has been four years since various agencies began digging up the road from Ring Road, passing through Damden Apartments to RPG, and further up to Automotive Axles, leaving craters along the entire stretch and causing agony for every road user. High GST and property taxpayers endure the torment of driving on this deteriorating road without protest, hoping that someday politicians or engineers will take action. However, there has been no response from any quarter.

Our Deputy Commissioner has visited the site twice, reprimanding negligent authorities and instructing for prompt rectification works, yet to no avail.

The jurisdictional confusion surrounding Hebbal and surrounding industrial areas, particularly after the establishment of the Hootagalli City Municipal Council, exacerbates the situation. However, this is not the concern of road users. I urge our officials to deploy resources — financial, mechanical and human — to immediately reconstruct the road.

As an engineer, I strongly recommend the following course of action: Removal of all residual existing blacktop (bitumen), scarification of the soil to a depth of 60 cm, relaying in layers of 30 cm each, compacting soil layers to at least 98 percent of Modified AASHTO density (which engineers should know), overlaying with Wet Mix Macadam of not less than 400 mm in two layers of 200 mm each, and providing a 50 mm layer of Bituminous Concrete, adhering to the Job Mix Formula (JMF) approved by a reputed agency. All layers should undergo testing as per specifications of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), under strict supervision and quality control from scarification to completion.

Regarding plans to provide a median and convert it into a dual carriageway, I advise against it due to the numerous crossroads and street-side shops in certain stretches, along with the lack of space for footpaths in some areas.  Unless thoroughly surveyed, providing a median would be futile. Instead, efforts should focus on broadening the road, completing bell mouths in all junctions by at least 40 metres into crossroads, and strictly adhering to MoRTH specifications.

– V.N. Prasad, Retd. Designer – Highways, Mysuru, 24.3.2024

You can also mail us your views, opinions, and stories to [email protected]