Expressnews
Chennai based Indian Road Survey & Management (IRSM), pioneers in providing comprehensive topographical surveys including road condition surveys of sealed and unsealed roads, have so far completed network level Road condition Assessment to the extent of 500,000 Kms. Some of the large projects undertaken by IRSM are in AP, Telangana and presently a prestigious project of TNRSP is underway under world bank funding. IRSM till date has completed data collection and road assessments in 26 states.
Addressing the media today at the knowledge sharing seminar on quality evaluation of road assets, Mr. Parasuraman, Managing Director, IRSM said, “The TNRSP project IS AN IMPORTANT project for us. We have now bid and have been shortlisted for similar projects in two other major States to the tune of 30000 kms. Though the quality of roads in India is improving, we are still 3 decades behind other advanced economies, when it comes to road infrastructure.
IRSM is also the first in India to have taken up and conducted the survey under the International Road Assessment Program (IRAP) on road safety. Thus far, IRSM have done more than 10 such surveys pan India and abroad. Ten IRSM Engineers have IRAP accreditation.
IRSM is in joint venture with the 62-year-old Australian Road Research Board (ARRB). They also work closely with the Australian Trade and Investment commission (Austrade), in India.
“The technology is still in a nascent stage of adoption in India though we have been offering this service since 2009. The Ministry of Road Transport, NHAI and other Research Institutions are very supportive of the new technologies. We have three Network Survey Vehicle machines for functional and three machines for structural evaluation of the road condition he added.
To maintain and sustain the road assets, which are the lifeline of the Indian Economy, road assests built are consistently monitored and maintained through a scientific methodology thereby significantly minimizing the maintenance cost.
“This scientific approach according to our observation and experience can save to the extent of 25% of the maintenance cost of the asset through its life span. The NHAI under the Ministry of Roadways, have made it mandatory to perform the functional and structural condition assessment every 6 months or one year interval,” Parasuraman pointed out.
Utilizing this opportunity, IRSM and ARRB have showcased the Network Survey vehicle (NSV) and Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) from Australia to the representatives of the State Government, Road Developers, Engineers, Financiers, and Consultants at the seminar.
Also present here Dr. Richard Yeo COO and Mr. Mark Steidle, CCO from ARRB and Mr. Abdul Ekram, Trade Commissioner, South India, South Asia Infrastructure and Mr. Kamran Khan Director, South Asia Infrastructure, Austrade.
