Hyderabad: In order to minimise damage to roads during the monsoon season, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has decided to lay VDCC roads, a combination of Black Top (BT) and white-top roads, which is suitable for city conditions.
The corporation has noticed that BT roads, which are cheaper to lay, have been damaged frequently, even with moderate rainfall, due to lack of storm water drains.
Though Rs 40 crore has been earmarked for white-topping of roads, which has a longer life but is more expensive, the idea has been shelved as of now.
Using VDCC technology, the cost can be minimised and sustainability increased. Two layers of BT and CC cement concrete (CC) will be used which will add strength and wear better.
Chief engineer (maintenance) Mohammed Ziauddin said that the corporation has taken up periodic preventive maintenance of BT roads in 52 packages, with a minimum of five to six works in each package. Tenders have been called for and work related to 21 packages has already taken off. The VDCC roads will be laid in Himayathnagar main road, Nimboli Adda-Barkatpura, Serilingampally-Nallagandla, Masjid Banda-Kothaguda, Chandanagar MMTS-National Highway link road, Jubilee Hills Road No. 5, PJR Enclave, Chandanagar, near Hayatnagar Circle and Kapra.
Fifty-one CC roads will be taken up with tenders finalised for only about half of them.
Some of the ongoing CC work includes Niloufer Hospital road, Allapur road, Kakatiya Hills, and Banjara Hills Road No. 12 were temporarily put on hold.
The state government has sanctioned Rs 723 crore for preventive maintenance of city roads. Unlike patch-work that gives an uneven ride, milling of the existing road, re-profiling and laying of fresh roads will be undertaken.
