That the country's highways and roads show wear and tear within years or, in some cases, even months of their construction is not uncommon. After the post-construction hype begins subsiding, the unpalatable realities begin to surface. Never before did the authorities give the impression they were not amused with such construction blunders. This time, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader have come heavily upon this construction malpractice. He has shown his extreme displeasure at the sorry state of two roads --- Dhaka-Chattogram Highway and Nabinagar-Chandra 4-lane road, which he has already found to be dilapidated.
Innumerable national and inter-region roads and highways now crisscross the country. The highways in particular witnessed pageant-filled openings making the areas' people dream big about communications. Unfortunately, the dreams do not take long to turn into disillusionment. The minister deplored the fact that the two important corridors from Dhaka became unusable so shortly after opening. Truly speaking, this is what happens to the country's roads and highways nowadays. When it comes to smooth operation of the highways, it is imperative that they were ensured proper maintenance. After the opening of communication infrastructure, the relevant authorities tend to forget the all-important necessity of upkeep. Thus the highways constructed in some cases with substandard construction materials and in other cases due to lack of proper maintenance develop pot-holes and other glaring defects. Roads without the smooth surface, stone chips loosened, and caved in at places, are a common sight. Maintenance is the key to a road's health. A lack of monitoring and care lead to fast deterioration of the road conditions. The condition of the two roads, especially the highway, has reached such a level that the maintenance authorities have resorted to stop-gap solutions. The results of such sloppy work fall short of the requirement. Despite being dubbed the most important road in the country, the Dhaka-Ctg Highway couldn't see its expected glory days long after its opening. Soon the scourge of traffic gridlock began plaguing it. This didn't have much to do with the pressure of traffic as it did with the minor faults in road designing.
That keeping provisions for maintenance is a vital part of large road construction has not lost on the authorities. The problem lay in its cropping up so soon. Normally, the need for upkeep or maintenance emerges a few years after the roads' inauguration. In the case of the two roads in question, the need has been felt too early. The condition of the country's other national and regional highways, and the local roads, is not much different. In certain cases their state is worse, in other cases better. The condition of roads depends on monitoring and supervision or the lack of those at the time of their construction.
If the local administration or the public representatives keep a close eye on the entire process, engineers and contractors have little scope for manipulating the road-building specifications. If constructed following the specifications, the lifespan of roads and highways can be much longer than they now last unless floods take a heavy toll on them. Of course, use of roads also determines lifespan. Movement of heavier vehicles than road surface can bear or salt water leaving a trail on roads unabatedly on the highway between Chattogram and Cox's Bazar can cause damage to the surface prematurely. Measures should be taken against such practices.
