THE maintenance of large infrastructure has mostly remained a neglected issue. Whilst such lack of maintenance has made the headlines in the past, this is now a photograph that 抖阴精品 published on the front page on August 24 speaks volume about the neglect. The photograph shows a gaping wide in a rubber bridge expansion joint of the Khilgaon flyover in Dhaka that has worn out, making it a dangerous ride for vehicles, more so for motorcycles. The Khilgaon flyover, commissioned in March 2005, became the second flyover of the country although the construction had begun before the construction of the Mahakhali flyover, which was completed earlier and commissioned in November 2004. The 1.9-kilometre Khilgaon flyover plays an important role in road communications in Dhaka鈥檚 north although it has been criticised for failing to effectively attend to traffic congestion in at-grade areas. The flyover was viewed as a relief for residents of Rajarbagh, Malibagh, Shahjahanpur, Khilgaon, Goran, Basabo and Sabujbagh. The problem with the expansion joint is a serious issue that could cause accidents any time unless vehicle drivers remain cautious about the lurking danger. Such a situation warrants early attention of the government to the repairs of the flyover.
After the Local Government Engineering Division completed the construction of the flyover in 2005, the Dhaka City Corporation, or the Dhaka North City Corporation now after the split of Dhaka鈥檚 city authorities into two entities in 2011, is reported to have been in charge of its maintenance since 2006. This is, therefore, the responsibility of the north city authorities to regularly conduct the inspection of the flyover and do the repairs, if needed, in the event of any problem. But this is not the first time that the flyover ran into a problem. A pillar on the western side of the flyover sank into the ground in 2011. Three shuttering plates sank by a few centimetres. A preliminary investigation in September that year said that visual inspection had found no problem in the pre-stressed girders, decks, elastomeric bearings or pyres. The investigation said that as local techniques and technology were used, the construction had not been done with precision, but there was nothing to be panicked about. The investigation team that time said that no repairs would be needed if the pillar did not sink any further, noting that there had been a fault but there was no relation between the fault and the design.
All this suggests that the authorities should conduct regular inspections of not only the Khilgaon flyover but all flyovers so as to minimise risks of any accident. And, in the case at hand, the authorities should immediately repair the expansion joint to head off any impending danger.
