Gurugram: GMDA invites bids for repairing Golf Course Extension Road

The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) has floated a tender for repairing the pothole-riddled Golf Course Extension Road (GCER), after the Gurugram

The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) has floated a tender for repairing the pothole-riddled Golf Course Extension Road (GCER), after the Gurugram Police brought up the issue of potholes and accidents on this stretch with GMDA officials.

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The police had found more than 350 potholes on a 6.3km stretch between Ghata T-point and Vatika Chowk on the GCER. Till mid-September this year, at least 20 accidents and four fatalities have been reported on the stretch, as per the data shared by the police. Last year, there were 46 accidents and 16 fatalities on this stretch.

Jitender Mittal, chief engineer (infrastructure), GMDA, said, apart from fixing potholes, the tender also seeks to fix other structural defects associated with this stretch.

In 2018, GMDA started taking over the maintenance of the master roads in the city from Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG). It has now started floating tenders for the annual and periodic maintenance of master roads on a first-time basis, including for GCER.

Mittal added that the stretch encounters frequent problems. For instance, last night, a drainage leakage occurred, which led to the stretch being inundated in patches.

“The tender has been floated to address all such issues,” said Mittal, adding that they were waiting for the monsoon season to be over before commencing with any bitumen-related work.

Bids for GMDA’s tender are valid till October 5 and the projected cost is ₹34.38 lakh, said officials.

“We have highlighted several areas in the city, where traffic congestion, accidents, and illegal parking are rampant. Subsequently, we have shared the necessary information with various public bodies. The issues with GCER had also been conveyed to GMDA as part of this process. We are taking all steps to reduce accidents in the city,” said DK Bhardwaj, DCP traffic, Gurugram Police.

As per a 2019 GMDA axel-weight report, GCER is designed to sustain a maximum load of 8-15 tons. However, during an inspection, most heavy vehicles were generally found to be carrying four-five times this weight, amounting to 30-40 tons, leading to the frequent formation of potholes. Further GCER is a major thoroughfare, carrying heavy traffic throughout the year. According to GMDA’s traffic study, the average number of vehicles plying on GCER per hour in June 2018 was around 4,100 vehicles per hour. This increased to 4,600 vehicles per hour in June 2019. By June 2028, the average number of vehicles per hour is expected to be around 7,000 while by June 2038, it is expected to rise to 11,500 vehicles, the report further stated.

GMDA officials said that until a ₹300-crore project for building flyovers and laying the entire stretch with Pavement Quality Concrete (PQC) commences, GCER will continue to remain vulnerable to formation of potholes. Re-carpeting and maintenance work will only provide a temporary fix.

The project is still in planning stages, said officials. PQC is a material used in the construction of national highways as well as airport runways.

“Due to its connectivity to major road networks, as part of its Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP), GMDA is treating GCER like the outer ring road in Delhi. The flyover alone would not be able to address the problem of heavy traffic. The lower layer of road also needs to be in a position to sustain this weight. PQC is a tried-and-tested approach and GMDA can go ahead with this method, provided it is executed correctly,” said Sewa Ram, an urban transport systems design expert and a faculty member at the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), Delhi.