Four contractors get govt. notice for cave-ins on Mumbai-Delhi Expressway
The Hindu
Delhi-Mumbai Expressway construction deficiencies addressed by Minister Gadkari, contractors held responsible, rectification work underway.
Four contractors have been held responsible for deficiencies detected in the construction of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and strict action will be taken against them, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari informed Parliament on Thursday (December 5, 2024).
The Minister was responding to a question in Lok Sabha from Hanuman Beniwal, Rashtriya Loktantrik Party MP from Rajasthan on the quality of the road on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway which has caved in at many places. A 33-year-old worker was killed and three others were injured when a portion of an under-construction tunnel on the expressway collapsed Sunday morning in Kota district of Rajasthan.
Minister Gadkari said that the Delhi-Vadodara (DVE) section of the Expressway used a new technology called “perpetual pavement with wearing course of Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA)“ were some deficiencies had occurred in certain stretches during construction.
He also said that rains during the monsoon season also resulted in damages at certain locations of Sohna-Dausa section of the Expressway. This section has been investigated by IIT Kharagpur, which has found certain deficiencies of SMA (stone matrix asphalt) layer and this layer would be relaid.
The rectification work is being carried out by the contractor at their own cost as per the clause in the contract on the Defect Liability Period of ten years, the Minister informed Parliament.
The Expressway is 1,386 kms long. Over 82% of the work on it has been completed with 1,136 kilometres constructed. It is expected to be fully completed by the end of 2025. It aims to reduce travel time between Delhi and Mumbai from 24 hours to 12 hours.
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