The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has made utility surveys mandatory before road construction or resurfacing, in a move intended to prevent newly built roads from being dug up again for water, drainage, electricity, gas, telecom and streetlight work. The municipal commissioner’s circular has ordered immediate implementation of the new standard operating procedure (SOP).
Under the procedure, road design teams must first conduct a detailed topographical survey of the site. The survey must record the road width and existing level, Town Planning and Development Plan road lines, footpaths, junctions and trees. It must also map the location, depth, size, type and ownership of underground and roadside utilities before the construction or resurfacing design is finalised.
The utility survey will cover water supply, sewerage, storm-water drainage, electricity, gas, telecommunications and streetlights. Where information about a utility is incomplete or unclear, the project engineer will have to approve a trial pit investigation. Safety measures will be required during the excavation, and the site must be restored after the inspection. Photographs and an investigation report will also have to be prepared.
If a utility line needs to be shifted or rehabilitated as part of the road project, the estimated cost must be included in the design. The SOP also requires the relevant water supply, drainage, storm-water drainage and streetlight officials to provide written opinions before the road design is approved. A joint meeting and site inspection will then be used to determine the work required.
Where new water or drainage lines are needed, or existing lines have to be replaced, that work must be planned for completion before road construction begins. The arrangement is intended to prevent departments from reopening a completed road for utility work carried out later.
The new procedure also introduces technical requirements for pavement design. Before an unpaved road is converted into a paved road, soil testing must be carried out and the pavement design must be based on the soil’s California Bearing Ratio value. Before an existing asphalt road is resurfaced, a Falling Weight Deflectometer test must be conducted to measure road deflection and prepare a report.
Road traffic loads will be used to determine the required Million Standard Axles value and pavement thickness. The extent of milling will be decided on the basis of the technical assessment. Engineers must also prepare a Finished Road Level sheet, along with measurement sheets showing the road’s length, width and different construction layers, including existing and final levels.
The AMC has directed that road designs cover more than the carriageway. Footpaths, cycle tracks, streetlights, traffic arrangements, landscaping and utility infrastructure must be planned together. Dedicated space must be reserved for utilities within the road width, while ducts and cross ducts must be provided to accommodate future lines without cutting into the finished road.
The requirements will have to be incorporated into tenders and requests for proposals issued for new road design consultants. Project or zonal departments must obtain prior written opinions from water supply and drainage officials before proceeding. The SOP therefore places responsibility on multiple civic departments to coordinate utility planning before road work begins, with implementation now ordered under the municipal commissioner’s circular.
