A high-level meeting convened by the Hon'ble Member of Parliament, Visakhapatnam, Shri M. Bharath Garu, was held today at the office of the Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority (VMRDA), Visakhapatnam, to chart a scientific road-improvement programme for the city. A senior delegation of the CSIR-Central Road Research Institute (CSIR-CRRI), New Delhi, led by its Director Dr. Ch. Ravi Sekhar, took part in the meeting along with senior officers of the city and the metropolitan region.

The meeting was attended, among others, by Shri Ketan Garg, IAS, Municipal Commissioner, Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC); Shri P. V. V. Satyanarayana Raju, Chief Engineer, GVMC; and Shri Vinay Kumar, Chief Engineer, VMRDA. From CSIR-CRRI, Dr. G. Bharat, Dr. Sampath Kumar P., Dr. P. S. Prasad and Dr.K.Ravinder presented the Institute's technologies for flexible pavements, performance evaluation of roads, subgrade improvement for weak and waterlogged ground, and urban road safety.

The interaction comes at a significant moment for the city, with GVMC supported by VMRDA having taken up a major programme for the upgradation of gravel and WBM roads to BT/CC standards and the development of end-to-end pavements with allied infrastructure across eight constituencies, covering around 228 km of roads, 34 km of central medians, over 1,550 street lights and improvement of key junctions. CSIR-CRRI’s scientific expertise is expected to strengthen the planning, quality and long-term durability of such works.

Opening the deliberations, the Hon'ble MP outlined the city's priorities, including bridge assessments, quality control on road projects, deployment of an i-RASTE-type intelligent road-safety system and a end to end pavement solution for Visakhapatnam, and structured training for contractors and engineers on various road-related aspects. He observed that Visakhapatnam, with its major port, industrial base, growing metropolitan region and long, demanding coastline, needs durable, scientifically engineered roads.

 

The detailed discussion identified a wide set of areas in which CSIR-CRRI would study the problems and propose solutions. These include relaying of roads through end-to-end paving, new roads and reconditioning of existing ones; scientific study and remedies for erosion of roads, urban flooding and coastal erosion; “right-to-walk” pedestrian facilities; road and road-safety audits; rationalisation of speed breakers; and a modern Road Asset Management System for the city's road network.

To place this cooperation on a firm and lasting footing, Dr. Ch. Ravi Sekhar, Director CRRI and Dr. Vinod Karar, chief scientist assured speedy execution on the modalities of the proposed Memoranda of Agreement/Understanding (MoA/MoU): one between CSIR-CRRI and GVMC and another between CSIR-CRRI and VMRDA covering the above areas of work. These agreements will allow CSIR-CRRI's seventy-five years of road-research expertise to be applied directly and impartially to the city’s roads.

The Hon'ble MP, Shri M. Bharath Garu, stressed the need for detailed planning of the proposed solutions and a clear, time-bound action plan, so that Visakhapatnam can have the best roads in the country. He suggested to study holistically for the world class infrastructure in Visakhapatnam. He urged the civic bodies and CSIR-CRRI to translate the day’s deliberations into work on the ground at the earliest.

Dr. Ch. Ravi Sekhar, Director, CSIR-CRRI, assured the gathering that the Institute is fully committed to partnering with GVMC and VMRDA, and that it will promptly follow up with nomination of nodal officers, joint site visits and identification of priority stretches.

As a first step, the CSIR-CRRI team, along with Shri Shanti Raju, Executive engineer, GVMC carried out survey of selected stretches of Visakhapatnam's roads to assess the road conditions, geometric design, road safety aspects, road signs, junction improvements, pedestrian facilities, and road distress parameters.

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NKR/AK

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