Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: In a much-needed relief, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant today announced that all the lanes of the Atal Setu bridge will be open for public use.
“All lanes of Atal Setu bridge will be open for public use from around 1pm today,” said CM Sawant.
He further wholeheartedly thanked the people for their patience and cooperation during the resurfacing work and also expressed regret for the inconvenience caused.
“I thank the workers who have toiled hard over the last month, GSIDC and contractor for completing the work at a speedy pace,” he added.
Since the Asphalt laid by a different technology failed the first time, the entire layer of the bridge was removed and Asphalt was laid in the traditional manner.
Sawant added that the technology used in resurfacing Atal Setu is advanced and will be the permanent solution to the uneven and potholed surface.
The technology consists of a middle membrane layer and bitumen over it, which had failed.
“It is not the contractor’s fault. The middle membrane layer was removed with the help of a German-made milling machine, which is one of two such machines in India. Removing the earlier membrane and laying a new membrane is technical and was time-consuming work involving a lot of hard work.” he added.
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.
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