No More Post-Construction Digging: AMC Issues Strict SOP for Road Building and Utility Surveys Across Ahmedabad

In a major move to halt repeated road digging after fresh construction, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) issued a strict new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on 9 October. Municipal Commissioner directive mandates comprehensive utility mapping, soil testing, and cross-departmental clearances before any new road design, construction, or resurfacing work can begin across the city. The orders have taken immediate effect.

The fresh guidelines aim to eliminate the common civic headache of newly built roads being dug up shortly after completion for water, drainage, or telecom works. Under the new protocol, engineering teams must conduct detailed topographical surveys and prepare consolidated maps detailing every existing utility line before finalising road designs.

Mandatory Utility Surveys and Integrated Mapping

Engineers must now document exact road widths, current levels, TP-DP roadlines, footpaths, junctions, and trees before laying roads. Alongside structural details, teams must compile integrated maps marking the exact depth, size, type, and ownership of all underlying utilities:

• Covered Utilities: Water supply, drainage, storm water, electricity, gas, telecom, and streetlights.
• Trial Pits Protocol: If utility details are unclear or incomplete, engineers must obtain approval from the project engineer to dig trial pits, record photographic evidence, compile reports, and restore the site immediately.
• Cost Estimation: Estimated costs for shifting or rehabilitating any utility lines during road construction must be integrated directly into the initial design proposal.

Inter-Departmental Approval Before Construction Begins

The SOP enforces mandatory coordination among civic branches. Before any road design is finalised, project engineers must obtain written feedback from officials overseeing water supply, drainage, storm water drainage, and streetlights.

Joint meetings and site visits are now compulsory to map out necessary work. If new water or drainage lines need to be laid or old pipes replaced, these projects must be completed entirely before road construction commences.

Soil CBR Tests for Unpaved Roads and FWD Tests for Resurfacing

Technical specifications for road construction have also been overhauled based on ground assessments:

• Unpaved Roads: Soil testing to determine California Bearing Ratio (CBR) values is mandatory to design the pavement structure for unpaved tracks.
• Asphalt Resurfacing: Deflection testing using Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) machines is now compulsory for asphalt roads prior to resurfacing.
• Pavement Thickness: Pavement thickness will be determined using Million Standard Axles (MSA) based on projected traffic loads.
• Level Documentation: Technical evaluations will dictate precise milling depths, supported by Finished Road Level (FRL) level sheets and detailed measurement records of road dimensions and construction layers.

Built-In Utility Ducts and RFP Compliance

To preserve road surfaces over time, the corporation has ordered that road designs incorporate footpaths, cycle tracks, streetlights, traffic management, landscaping, and dedicated zones for utilities within the road width. Designs must include pre-laid ducts and cross-ducts so future lines can be installed without breaking the asphalt.

All these provisions must be strictly incorporated into tender and Request for Proposal (RFP) documents for new road design consultants, with project and zone departments required to secure prior written clearances from water and drainage officials.