Paver blocks add to city’s pothole woes

The paver blocks, which cost the government crores of rupees, are playing a key role in worsening the city’s pothole menace.

The paver blocks, which cost the government crores of rupees, are playing a key role in worsening the city’s pothole menace.

HT Image

Hindustan Times visited certain major traffic junctions in the western and eastern suburbs and found that most of the blocks had loosened, broken or caved in, thus creating uneven patches.

For instance, Mith Chowki in Malad (West) is a very busy junction connecting Link Road, Charkop, Aksa area. However, the surface of the road is patchy with many small and big potholes.

The condition is similar on SV Road adjacent to the Andheri station and near Infiniti Mall junction on Andheri Link Road.

“At most places, I found that the quality of the paver blocks used was poor,” said Abhay Godbole, structural engineer from IIT Bombay. “Hence, the paver blocks get crushed due to heavy traffic. Samples of each batch of paver blocks should be tested in laboratory before using them.”

Experts say that improper laying of a single block can affect the stability of the remaining paver blocks. “Paver blocks need immediate attention even if a single block is detached from the rest,” said SL Dhingra, institute chair professor, IIT.

“Paver blocks of high quality that can carry the weight of heavy vehicles are available in the market. We have advised the civic body to use them,” said NV Mirani, chairman of the Standing Technical Advisory Committee on roads.