'Atal Setu' was meant to ease the traffic congestion at Panaji's entry point -- the KTC bus-stand area -- where vehicles coming from multiple directions converge before proceeding either into the city or continuing further north across the Mandovi. However, the Rs 546-odd crore, 5.1-kilometre-long bridge, has remained in an 'incubator' defective since birth when it was hurriedly inaugurated in January 2019. Instead of the 'marvel' it was hailed to be, it has become a nightmare for commuters as repeated closures for repairs due to recurring potholes and flooding led to chaos. Apparently, the material used for the bridge's riding surface was not appropriate for Goa's weather conditions as the agency roped in to investigate and provide solutions -- Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras -- ascertained. Since December last year, Larsen and Turbo (L&T), the original contractors who built the bridge are redoing the work in toto, removing the asphalt and tar and then resurfacing the deck as recommended by IIT-Madras.
Following Republic Day in 2019, Goa's then Chief Minister the late Manohar Parrikar made a dramatic appearance on fancily lit and decked up "Atal Setu" to inaugurate it along with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. He was governing the State in absentia fighting cancer and this was a rare public appearance he made in months. A food pipe protruded from his nose but it did not dampen his spirits as he mumbled "How's the Josh" referring to the Bollywood military action blockbuster 'Uri: The Surgical Strike', drawing loud cheers from the couple of thousands strong crowd gathered for the event.
The Parrikar-Gadkari duo, with Union Minister Shripad Naik in tow, then went on to inaugurate the four-lane bridge. It was a jubilant two hours on the brand new bridge that evening and the technocrats associated with the construction then added more astonishing technical data: one-lakh cubic metres of top quality concrete, 13,000 tonnes of steel, 32,000 sq metres of steel and 88 high tensile strength cables gone into building the bridge, only the third of its kind in India.
It all sounded mind-boggling at the time as did the claim that it will decongest Panaji and cut short travelling time between North and South Goa, every day. Four years later, however, it has all come to nought as the frequent closures due to the potholes over these years have caused massive disruptions in the flow of traffic.
IIT-Madras roped in to detect flaw
It has come to light albeit belatedly, that for all the ado over the completion of the bridge and its so-called engineering novelty, it had a defect at birth itself -- the choice of the adhesive material with waterproofing properties used to bond the concrete of the bridge's deck with the asphalt was faulty.
For several months, Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) struggled to identify the fault and the State government finally roped in IIT-Madras to do the job. A three-member team of experts from Chennai conducted many tests on-site over several weeks. Surface core samples were also tested in laboratories at Chennai and it was then determined that it was this adhesive material that was the culprit.
IIT-Madras finally concluded that the material was not suitable for Goa's weather conditions and the bonding between the concrete and the asphalt was defective, which was giving rise to the potholes with chunks of the asphalt peeling off.
Apart from detecting the cause for the potholes, IIT-Madras was also mandated to recommend a solution, which would then be executed by L&T at no cost to the government invoking the five-year defect liability clause of the original contract.
The recommendation that IIT-Madras made was to remove the entire asphalt and tar riding surface on the bridge and to replace it with a fresh carpet by the normal hot-mixing method.
Repair work began in mid-December
L&T began the rectification work in mid-December but in bits and pieces as the permission to shut the bridge entirely never came from the North Goa Collector until March this year. The work is expected to be completed by mid-April.
A top GSIDC official, which is still the nodal agency for the bridge as it has still not been handed over to the PWD, said the contractor (L&T) has been working along portions, one lane at a time, to remove the asphalt and tar and replace it with a fresh layer of bitumen since December.
The pace picked up only in mid-January when the government permitted the closure of the eastern arm (the Ponda-Porvorim arm).
"As per the recommendation of IIT-Madras, the entire riding surface (asphalt and tar) is to be removed and a fresh layer has to be laid using the traditional hotmixing method. This is what we are doing now," a top GSIDC official said.
The resurfacing of the bridge's deck, however, needs to be preceded by an exercise to put a layer of "mastic asphalt" else there is the danger of the same phenomenon repeating -- recurring potholes -- the GSIDC official said.
Also, the IIT-Madras team of experts is involved in supervising the ongoing repairs.
"We have taken samples of road surface from the Porvorim-Ponda arm and sent them to IIT Madras for tests. Also, their team of experts visited the plant to inspect the manufacturing process for the mastic as well as the PMBC (polymer-modified bitumen concrete). They are also supervising the laying of the mastic carpet," the GSIDC official said.
Demand for probe, but will govt oblige?
The ongoing repairs to 'Atal Setu' are being carried out by L&T at its own cost and there will be no liability on the State government, which has invoked the 5-year defect liability clause.
However, with questions continuously being raised over the quality of design, which is now revealed to be the cause of all the problems with the bridge, the moot question is whether the State government will order a probe to fix responsibility and ensure accountability of the consultants who were paid hefty fees for the job?
Almost every Opposition party -- Congress, AAP, RGP, TMC among others -- have demanded a probe, possibly by a retired or serving High Court judge. However, there is no indication from the government that it is willing to oblige.
Work expected to end by mid-April
With much hue and cry raised over the inconvenience caused by the ongoing repair work, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant along with a posse of government officials conducted a site inspection last week. Top police officer Nidhin Valsan, IPS, accompanied Sawant for the site inspection held to explore if the repair work can be continued without hindrance by opening one of the four lanes as massive traffic jams on both sides were the order of the day.
As expected, Sawant ordered the opening of one lane for traffic to move South to North, after the inspection which was done from April 2. The move however will prolong the duration of the repair work, according to GSIDC.
Although the contractor (L&T) has been working round the clock, deploying workers in three shifts, the hindrance caused by the opening of one lane will now shift the completion date further to mid-April, the official added.
