Dhaka-Chattogram highway repair so soon!

Reports of road repairs at staggering amounts just one year after its construction are too intriguing to explain. The Dhaka-Chattogram four lane highway - the 192-kilometre long vital artery between the capital and the port city - was completed in December 2016 costing Tk 38.17 billion from the government's own financing. Being a major development project, construction of the highway did draw a lot of attention ever since it got underway, mainly because of the economic implications of reduced journey time, especially in case of the movement of export and import cargoes by road. The situation has improved no doubt, but the need for repairs and maintenance in so short a period makes it unacceptable to many, including experts.

Immediately after completion of the project, there was clear indication of cracks and ruts on the road surface that eventually turned into potholes. The Chinese contractor Sino-Hydro attended to the problems -- but only up to the defect-liability period that expired in June 2017. Now, left with the fast deteriorating road condition, the Road Transport and Highways Division (RTHD) has come forward with a Tk 9.44-billion project to do the repair and maintenance works. The proposal is awaiting government nod. The highway, as the media reports, quoting the RTHD sources said, got exposed to damages and cracks due to plying of heavy-duty vehicles carrying overloaded cargoes in defiance of axle-load rules. Although the ministry is seeking more funds for the repair job, it did not engage any experts to determine the reasons for the damages caused in such a short time.

Normally, RTHD conducts maintenance of all roads across the country after their construction from its allocation under the revenue budget. But this time it is another development project for repairs and maintenance for next five years. According to the project proposal, the concerned Division will go for repair and strengthening of the highway at some points, surfacing or overlay, root-filling, constructing foot-over bridges for the pedestrians, setting up median-guard post-Berrien-sign-signal etc.

The argument in favour of the hefty repair and maintenance project of the highway does not seem to reason well. A recent report published in the FE quotes experts putting the blame on the RTHD engineers saying they should have taken greater care while supervising the construction of the highway, beside planning things well ahead keeping in mind the load of the cargo carrying vehicles as well as the types of vehicles. Given the movement of most heavy vehicles on the highway -- approximately 80 per cent of the country's total, it should have been a matter of serious consideration before setting out for its construction and expansion. Usually, lifespan of the surface of a road is nearly 10-20 years and it needs to go for 'overlay' or 'surfacing' after seven to ten years. But if the RTHD goes for the repair and overlay in little over a year, one cannot overrule the obvious lack of required attention to details. This may perhaps be attributed to negligence in both planning and overseeing the project activities.