Potholes reappear on Gurugram road repaired just 3 months ago

Less than three months after it was repaired, potholes have appeared on Golf Course Extension Road (GCER) leading to the breakdown of vehicles and causing traffic snarls.

In November last year, the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) officials had fixed the potholes on the stretch.

The 6-kilometre-long stretch between Vatika Chowk and Ghata T-junction is an important link for commuters travelling towards Delhi and Faridabad from the Golf Course Road, the Southern Peripheral Road (SPR) and Sohna Road as it helps them bypass congested stretches, such as the Mehrauli-Gurgaon (MG) Road and the Golf Course Road.

In addition, heavy trucks travelling from or towards Alwar and Manesar also use this stretch to reach Delhi and Faridabad. Regular commuters on the stretch said there isn’t a 50-metre stretch which is free of potholes.

“I use GCER to travel towards Faridabad daily, as it helps me avoid congestion on the Golf Course Road or MG Road. However, now I have changed to MG Road as GCER is riddled with potholes, causing congestion. Motorists slow down to either avoid potholes or to ensure there is minimal impact on their vehicles, this slows down traffic and leads to jams,” said Puneet Singh, a resident of Sector 50.

Besides facing traffic jams, commuters said, heavy vehicles such as trucks also break down on GCER due to potholes.

“Since last month, trucks or four wheelers constantly break down on GCER, after they have driven over a 3-4 feet deep pothole. There are no advance warnings of encountering stationery vehicles on the side lanes, and hence as a thumb rule I drive on the middle lanes of the carriageway on high beam to ensure I do not collide with one of the broken down vehicles. Potholes appearing within three months of road repair show that authorities carried out a shoddy job,” said Aniket Kapoor, a resident of DLF 5.

GMDA officials said structural integrity tests conducted last year showed that the base of the GCER is extremely weak. It needs to be relayed anew, they said. They also said that until the road is relayed, they can only repair it temporarily.

“Our tests last year found that the base of GCER is heavily damaged and not meant to handle heavy weight. Since heavy commercial vehicles access the stretch widely, the road is susceptible to develop potholes. Hence, GMDA is working towards relaying the road entirely, and until then it is carrying out temporary maintenance of the stretch,” said Amit Rathee, executive engineer of GMDA, which is responsible for looking after roads.

Rathee said that GMDA has plans of widening the stretch which will involve using the existing spaces left between green belts and the existing carriageways.

He added that in-principle the project has been approved and GMDA is working on compiling a detailed project report for the stretch.

First Published: Mar 11, 2019 03:45 IST