New Delhi, To ensure quality roads, the Public Works Department is planning to set up its own material testing mechanism, PWD Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh said on Tuesday.
As per current rules, the department mandates that all contractors involved in its road infrastructure projects conduct sample tests from a reputable engineering college.
“Currently, we have a process where several engineering colleges and expert institutes carry out testing of material samples at work sites. The same is the method for quality audits after completion of projects. We plan to start our own sample and road quality testing mechanism, and we are procuring required equipment for this,” PWD minister said.
In the initial stage, road quality testing will be initiated. This will save valuable time as many of these reports take two to three months to prepare, while also ensuring better quality of work. For roads, the PWD will procure a block cutter machine to test bitumen quality, Singh added.
The existing rules state, necessary tests are required to be conducted in the laboratory of Central Road Research Institute, IIT-Delhi, Jamia Milia Islamia, National Institute of Technology Delhi, and any other government engineering college approved by the engineer in charge of the project.
According to government officials, on several PWD roads where repair work is ongoing, quality testing will commence soon, and further changes will be made based on the reports.
Singh announced that the Delhi government plans to repair 600 km of capital roads over this year.
“Earlier, as per the minister’s direction, the PWD extended the operation and maintenance clause of road repair projects for a minimum of two years,” officials said.
Under the terms and conditions of the PWD, contractors are also required to provide equipment at sites like a weighing scale, graduated cylinder, standard sieves, thermometer, etc, to enable the engineer in charge to conduct field tests to ensure that the quality is consistent with the prescribed specifications, officials added.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
