HYDERABAD: The city convergence meeting of top civic officials held recently focused on road safety and maintenance that had to be done ahead of the monsoon. Little was said of the flyovers. Flyovers have a lifespan of over 50 years with regular maintenance. That is lacking in the flyovers in the city, and is seen in the poor road quality in some of them.

A key component of flyovers is the expansion joints. Most expansion joints suffer from friction due to heavy vehicles travelling at high speed. They also expand or contract according to the heat. That is why motorists have bumpy rides on some of the city’s flyovers. Gaps between these joints lead to water seepage when it rains. That is why motorists face the unpleasant experience of having water drip on them from some flyovers.

The wear of concrete occurs due to the settlement of water over slabs. The drainage along the periphery of these flyovers are meant to be cleaned regularly to allow free flow of water. “With the monsoon approaching, we cannot ignore the maintenance of flyovers. It is important to ensure that water stagnation does not occur along the edges due to clogging of drains. This could lead to flooding which in turn will lead to major traffic jams. Flyovers at Lalapet, Khairatabad and a few in the Old City require immediate attention,” said Dr N.V Ramana Rao, senior professor of civil engineering at JNTU.

Cracks begin to appear within a short span of time after construction due to water retention and increased traffic volume that is not anticipated during the time of construction. As heavy vehicles use flyovers frequently, higher quality of construction is needed. It is crucial to check extension joints at regular intervals to ensure that there is no shifting of slabs. GHMC chief engineer Suresh Kumar said the potholes on flyovers will be filled along with road maintenance.