"SHAKE" THE ROAD

We often say that Baku is not adapted to cold winter, especially snowfall. However, this is a problem typical of all southern cities. And if for Baku kids snowy weather is an interesting adventure, adults see this phenomenon as the cause of additional problem.

This year, the cold was so severe that before going out, citizens of the city studied weather forecasts from the National Bureau of Hydrometeorology, which were more like front-line reports. According to meteorological observations over the past 110 years, the minimum temperature of minus 11 degrees, which was observed in Baku on 8 February, broke the record of 1969 - minus 10. Tired of the cold, Bakuvians dreamt of the usual winter sun. And although it does not always please us with its appearance today, the severe cold is gone and the citizens are beginning to recover. Someone is repairing pipes that broke because of the frost, car owners are counting the cost of damage incurred as a result of traffic accidents caused by black ice, and someone else continues to sit at home in a plaster cast - one must admit that not in all parts of the city, community services showed wonders of good faith, clearing the pavements from snow and ice for pedestrians. In just one day, 8 February, 1,500 appealed to the Baku city accident and emergency station, and 136 of them were hospitalized.

But perhaps, the most serious echo of the Baku weather abnormalities today is the asphalt roads that became unusable because of the falling and melting of the snow in almost all parts of Baku. The resulting pits and potholes cause long traffic jams. The traffic flow is so dense that any braking of the car in front of a pit and detours lead to real collapse - traffic on the road really stops. It is no secret also that pits on the roads can and are likely to causes accidents, not to mention the harm they cause to the vehicle itself. This problem is so serious that the Main Traffic Police Department (MTPD) of Baku demands that road maintenance services focus on it.

Roads are currently in a deplorable condition in the entire city. The "record was broken" by streets such as Dilara Aliyeva and Fizuli streets, Azadliq Avenue, and various roads inside neighbourhoods, of which road repairers rarely or never take care. Streets in dormitory suburbs look unsightly as well.

The head of the road traffic section of the Main Traffic Police Department of Baku, Vasif Islamov, believes that junctions near the 20 January roundabout, in the 6th residential district, at the intersection of Ahmad Cavad Street and Azadliq Avenue, and several others should be urgently repaired. The reason for sagging asphalt is the frosty weather, he said.

According to Islamov, when such facts are detected, the MTPD informs JSC  Azaryolservis. This organization, in turn, takes measures to restore the damaged section of the road.

At present, JSC Azaryolservis of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Transport has started repairing Neftcilar Avenue - the main street of the capital. But, according to the spokesperson for the service, Punhan Mursalov, the deep-seated view that the asphalt covering of roads in Baku is repaired only on the main streets is erroneous.

And this is proved by figures. "Of course, all the weather-damaged streets will be repaired very soon. As for the work that has already been done, from 2006 to 2011, Azaryolservis built and put into operation about 30 junctions and 54 underground passages in Baku that meet modern requirements," he said.

Mursalov said that road junctions of different levels are currently under construction at the intersections of streets in the capital, the road network is being updated and rebuilt, and roads, avenues and streets, including in settlements and villages, are being resurfaced. In addition, projects are being implemented to rebuild roads of state importance and build and repair local roads and bridges. As a continuation of a series of measures to improve the road transport infrastructure in the capital and facilitate the entry and exit of transport from the city in the southern and south-westerly direction, the Baku-Alat, Bilgah-Novxani-Sumqayit and Buzovna-Mardakan-Suvalan-Qala roads are being built, underground passages are under construction at the intersection of Neftcilar Avenue and Sardar Safarov Street, etc. The third phase of the construction of the Boyuk Sor junction is being implemented and road junctions of different levels are being built on Qabala Square, at the intersection of Ziya Bunyadov Avenue and Abdulvahab Salamzada, Ali Mustafayev and other streets, Mursalov said.

In addition, the Alat-Astara state highway of international significance is being reconstructed. Currently, such parts of the highway as Yenikand-Salyan, Salyan-Sorsulu, Masalli-Astara, and a bridge over the River Kur in Salyan are under construction. Over the past period, large-scale repair and reconstruction work has been carried on the roads of national and local importance. The continuation of reconstruction work on such roads as Lankaran-Lerik, Masalli-Yardimli, Ganca-Daskasan-Xosbulaq, Quba-Ispik-Xinaliq, Camax-Pirqulu, Tovuz-Alibayli, Samkir-Gadabay, Ismayilli-Qabala and others is a prime example of the attention the state is paying to this field, Mursalov said.

As for problems associated with the repair of roads, experts say that despite the cold, the asphalt covering should be serviced at least once a year. This is not necessary if the technology is observed - in this case, the asphalt covering may serve for many years. Asphalt cracks due to freeze-thaw cycles if the quality of the foundation on which it is based does not meet regulatory standards. A high quality road is not afraid of snow, ice and temperature drops.