HC gives Porvorim contractor 2 days for hotmixing timelines

Panaji: The high court of Bombay at Goa on Tuesday gave the contractor of the elevated Porvorim corridor two days to submit a detailed bar chart with timelines for the completion of hotmixing of roads where traffic is being diverted. The matter will be heard again on Monday.
At the last hearing, the PWD was directed to inspect the roads and submit their report to the high court. Chief engineer-I PWD, Santosh Mhapne, submitted to the high court that the Guirim-Parra highway service road is closed for traffic and the PWD has notified the stretch from the Guirim vehicular underpass to Aradi-Soccoro junction/Sangolda junction as a ‘construction zone’ till April 2026.
“The said service road will be opened to traffic after the elevated corridor is commissioned,” the engineer submitted in his report. When the area at O’Coqueiro junction and opposite Toyota Showroom and Wellness Pharmacy were inspected on January 16, the PWD found that no hotmixing was done, but the next day, the PWD observed improvements by laying asphalt opposite Wellness Pharmacy.
On the stretches opposite Hyundai Showroom and opposite Damian de Goa, the PWD observed that hotmixing of a small portion of the service road on the left side could not be carried out due to water leakage. Upon inspection on Jan 16, it noticed the leakage had substantially reduced and the stretch was not hotmixed. The next day, it observed a hotmix carpet laid on these stretches.
Similarly, at Aradi-Soccoro junction, no hotmixing was done as of Jan 16, the date of the inspection. After that, PWD overlaid the portion with a hotmix carpet.
The PWD has stated that service roads opposite Galaxy Residency, Nexa Showroom, Croma Showroom, and First Cry Showroom will be hotmixed prior to the commencement of barricading activity. No barricading has commenced on these stretches, with the full width of the NH 66 available for movement of traffic, the PWD stated. It grants permission to barricade only after service roads on both sides are hotmixed, with the condition that barricading should begin 48 hours after granting permission, so that the traffic police can make necessary arrangements, Mhapne submitted to the high court.