Times of India | 1 week ago | 13-05-2022 | 01:08 am
Panaji: IIT-Madras, which has been roped in by the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) to study the defects in the 5.1-km long cable-stayed Atal Setu, has requested for four additional core samples. GSIDC will extract the 100mm core samples from the bridge’s tarmac and send them to Chennai for analysis. The corporation’s officials expect IIT-Madras to submit the preliminary report by May-end. Unable to prevent the frequent potholes on the Atal Setu, the state government had turned to IIT-Madras in July last year for answers. Chief minister Pramod Sawant had said that the institute would study the reason why the bitumen fails to adhere with the span of the bridge, after which L&T — the company that constructed the bridge — will be asked to take corrective measures. While the GSIDC has started interim repairs on the bridge, a permanent solution will be possible only after IIT Madras submits its report and findings. Potholes have become a common occurrence on the bridge, which has been built at a cost of Rs 581 crore. Though inaugurated in January 2019, the Atal Setu remains incomplete and the GSIDC has yet to issue a completion certificate to L&T. With a five-year defect liability period mentioned in the contract, L&T has been repairing the Atal Setu without any cost to the exchequer. Recently, at least six vehicles were damaged in accidents on the Atal Setu because of the potholes that mar the bridge. Given the spate of accidents, it is no surprise that some motorists have decided to avoid the bridge. Panaji resident Arun Baba Naik recently took to social media to announce that he would no longer use the bridge for his commute to Mapusa. “Looking at two accidents in two days on Atal Setu, I have decided not to use this bridge to go or come back from Mapusa,” said Naik.
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