The Public Works Department (PWD) has taken remedial measures to remove the extra smoothness from a patch of road near the National Institute for Visually Handicapped (NIVH). The Pioneer in its February 7 edition had highlighted the danger posed to vehicles which ply on this stretch of road. A badly done crack filling work had resulted in extra smooth surface on a stretch of road which connects Dehradun to Mussoorie.
Many incidents of skidding of vehicles had occurred due to it. The morning and night time were particularly dangerous for the vehicles as dew made the surface more slippery. The engineers of PWD corrected the problem by rolling some grit on the stretch. This activity has reduced the extra smoothness of the road. The Executive Engineer, PWD, Dehradun, S K Garg told The Pioneer that the department engineers have solved the problem. He said that the department would mix more sand in this stretch after the winter.
It was learnt that due to the carelessness of the contractor more bitumen was put in the mixture during the crack filling work done to protect the surface from water. In the crack filling activity a mixture of bitumen and cement was poured in the cracks but due to sudden drop in temperature due to the onset of winter, the surface became extra smooth.
At a recent meeting, the District Magistrate (DM) of Dehradun, Ravinath Raman, had pulled up the PWD officers for messing up the patch-work and asked them to take immediate corrective measures.