26 July,2009 07:45 AM IST | | Somita Pal
Officials say crack could have become a pothole
Within 25 days of the Bandra Worli Sea Link opening for public use, depressions have already appeared on its surface.
The depressions are barely 50 metres from the Worli end of the landmark sea link. A traffic constable on duty said, "There was a bad patch of 1.5x 2 ft at the Worli end. The repair work was done immediately."
While the contractors who made the bridge claimed that the depression was only superfluous and cannot be defined as a pothole, police officials who saw it being tarred on Friday say otherwise.
An official from the Hindustan Construction Company (HCC), the agency that has constructed the sea link, said, "A crack has appeared. If the crack is not rectified then it gets damaged further and becomes a pothole.
Nothing to be surprised about
Vivek Ghanekar, the superintending engineer, BWSL said, "There is nothing to be surprised about. If there is any bad patch on the BWSL, HCC will repair it. Asphalting work on that stretch was done after May 10."
The 5.6 km road of BWSL has a 52mm wearing thickness made of 12mm thick mastic asphalt and 40mm thick bituminous concrete on top. Below the wearing surface is the concrete deck.u00a0
Another senior official from MSRDC said, "We can't call it a pothole, but a potential pothole. This is due to the vehicles applying brakes because of the diversion at the junction. There was a rough surface which the HCC has repaired."
Haste made waste
Sudhir Badami, a road expert said, "Officials hurried up with the work at the fag end of the BWSL near the Worli end. That was done two weeks before the link was inaugurated. If I remember there were light showers and the water may not have drained out, causing the pothole."
