Mumbai-Pune Expressway

Mumbai-Pune superhighwayThe Mumbai-Pune Expressway has always been a propose of high priority for the Maharashtra State political science. The traffic on the Mumbai-Pune incision of National Highway 4 is expected to increase drastically. The distance amid the two cities is some 180 km and it takes about five hours to veil it under good traffic conditions. However increasingly, and during the monsoon, traffic on the Mumbai-Pune route is very high and frequent accidents block the narrow and winding curves of the two lane highway. Landslides in the region are very frequent due(p) to the monsoon rains. The resulting delays and traffic blockages turn a 5-hour journey to one that would involve anywhere between 10 to 15 hours. (Sulakshana Mahajan, 2002)The disposal of Maharashtra had been newly elected in 1995 and they were very keen on the early completion of the Mumbai Pune Expressway, as in that respect was prestige value attached to it. It was decided in July 1996 to implement the project as a BOT(Build-Operate-Transfer) project and tenders were prepared appropriately, for which lone(prenominal) one phone was received from Reliance India Limited which was rejected as it was double the political science budget. In turn the project was awarded to MSRDC. (IITK Indian Institute of technology Kanpur, 2007) feasibility StudyIn 1990, the Government of Maharashtra appointed RITES and Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick of United Kingdom to require out the feasibility study and they submitted the report with the estimated cost of 240 million USD. The Government then handed over the project to MSRDC in March 1997 on a Build Operate and Transfer basis (BOT) with permission to earn tolls for a period of 30 years. The Government of India received the clearance from the Ministry of Forests and purlieu in November 1997. In order to prepare detailed estimates, designs and bid documents the shit was divided into eight phases and from each one phase was under the supervision of famous international consultants. (IITK Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, 2007)Features The Mumbai Pune Expressway also cognise as the Yashwantrao Chavan Expressway is Indias first six lane high travel access controlled tolled expressway. Spanning a distance of 93kms it connects Mumbai, the financial capital of India and Pune, the neighboring industrial hub city. The project cost 350 million USD to construct and was completed under the focusing of MSRDC in a time period of 24 months.* The expressway has foursome lane wide tunnels at five locations with a total space of 5724m.* There are separate tunnels for traffic in each deputation and these tunnels are provided with modern facilities for ventilation, lighting and fire fighting vehicles.* This work was entrusted to the Konkan railroad Corporation Ltd on 8 December 1997.Benefits of the ExpresswayMany aspects of the Expressway make it an engineering marvel.* No signals along the 93km route and no cheat curves.* Red uction in accidents.* Reduction in travel time.* Saving of force out consumption.* Faster crossing of the Khandala Ghat.* Reduction in pollution.Issues faced in expression the Highway The mountainous terrain around the area, posed a huge curse in structure the Expressway. As five tunnels had to be constructed, there was a lot of difficulty in drilling through the mountains as the endocarp was extremely hard. Around 500 trees which got in the way of the construction had to be uprooted and transplanted into pits dug at other locations. Vast areas of rich, fertile land had to be cleared into farmlands in interior areas. Difficulty in accessing the work areas to sum up raw materials. Nature of soil in the area caused problems in building roads, due to which concrete roads had to be built.* Environmental ConcernsAn Environment move Assessment was conducted by RITES and they identified the following concernsThe construction of the Expressway would involve on the quality of water i n the rivers flowing in nigh areas, which were being used for drinking and industrial Purposes. It would also result in loss of forests and rare flora, effect on wild life in the Ghats and lead to landslides in the future. The difficulties faced due to rehabilitation of the human hard-boiledtlements.Reasons for the make implementation by MSRDCWorkforceMSRDC hired their workforce from Public flora Department and CIDCO (City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra), most of whom had extensive sustain in the development of large-scale projects. They also took employees from the revenue department on deputation to help with the land acquisition process. (IITK Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, 2007)Appointment of Project Management ConsultantsA Steering Committee was set up in order to recommend different technical monetary standards to be adopted, to prepare geometric standards, and to help MSRDC in deciding upon various alimentation of tender documents and rel ated matters. The Steering Committee proposed that Project Management Consultants (PMC) be appointed for preparing and ensuring consistency in design standards, cost estimates and tender documents, and to superintend the construction work as and when it began. In addition it was also though that if the technical aspects of the projects were taken care of by PMCs, then MSRDC could concentrate on the task of coordinating the various administrative requirements such as acquire clearances, raising finances etc.Committees were to be formed to perform each of the tasks by drawing personnel from each of the PMCs to ensure consistency. Since the most classic skill for a PMC was considered to be Technical Skill, the selection criteria were such that 75% importance was assigned to the technical bid and 25% to the financial bid. some other condition was imposed that 1 PMC will work on only 1 section of the Expressway to avoid excess load on a PMC. (IITK Indian Institute of Technology Kanpu r, 2007)Facilities given by MSRDC to Consultants and ContractorsMSRDC and the Government of Maharashtra provided several facilities to contractors and consultants in order to ensure quick and efficient working. The using up on these services helped shrink production costs by 8-10% as a result of speedy completion of work. Some of the facilities given were corresponding* Project Management Consultants had their own site offices set up with standard equipment standardized Xerox, telephone, printer provided at MSRDCs expense.* Increase in the price of steel, bitumen and cement will be absorbed by MSRDC.* Custom duty is to be reimbursed for import of new machinery.* Land provided for site facilities was given to the contractor rationalise of cost.* As the stretch of construction was 93 kms, MSRDC prompted oil companies to set up petrol pumps.* MSRDC took the responsibility to divert all utility services like telephone cables, water pipelines and electrical lines coming in the cons truction stretch.judicial proceedingMSRDC adopted a very proactive stand towards litigation right from the start and they appointed a panel of experts for handling cases. They also made sure they responded to court orders in very less time which helped reduce the delays in re-seeking appropriate dates. (IITK Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, 2007)ReferencesRoadtraffic-technology.com. (2009) Mumbai-Pune Expressway, India. uncommitted from http//www.roadtraffic-technology.com/projects/mumbai/ Accessed 11/12/2009Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation Ltd. (2007) MSRDC Project Mumbai Pune Expressway. Available from http//www.msrdc.org/Projects/Mumbai_Pune_Expr.aspx Accessed 11/12/2009Wikipedia (2009) Mumbai Pune Expressway. Available from http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumbai-Pune_Expressway Accessed 11/12/2009ExpressIndia (2000) The Mumbai-Pune expressway. Available from http//www.expressindia.com/ countersign/fe/daily/20000730/fec30031.html Accessed 11/12/2009Dandekar/Ma hajan EPW Paper (2001) MSRDC and The Mumbai-Pune Expressway A Sustainable Model for Privatizing Construction of Physical Infrastructure? Available from http//sdmahajan.tripod.com/epw_paper.pdf Accessed 11/12/2009