CHAPTER - 2

PRE-FEASIBILITY REPORT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF

TRANS-ARUNACHAL HIGHWAY

ROAD FROM KHODASO (CH. 110.450 KM) TO DAKTE HOJ

(CH. 212.450 KM) VIA SAGALEE, TORU, KHEEL - 102.000 KM) IN ARUNACHAL PRADESH

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. The proposed Trans-Arunachal Highway, a 2-Lane National Highway Standard Trunk Route about 1811
km in length running along the middle belt of Arunachal Pradesh from Tawang in the North Western tip
to Kanubari on the South Western end of the State forms a part of the development package announced
by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Manmohan Singh during his visit to Itanagar on 31.01.2008.

2. This Highway would be interconnecting 12 out of 16 District Head Quarter towns of the State and would
provide to improve connectivity to important locations of populations concentration and economic
activity, including major Hydro Electric Power Projects. The Highway would pass through important
places such as Bomdila, Nechipu, Seppa, Sagalee, Hoj, Yupia, Ziro, Daporijo, Along, Pasighat, Roing,
Tezu, Mahadevpur, Namchik, Changlang, Khonsa, Kanubari etc. and would greatly help in reducing
isolation of the people of the State.

3. This route has been considered for taking up under SARDP Phase-A. It is intended for completion of
the project by Government of India during 11th & 12th Five Year Plan for ensuring connectivity to all
District Headquarters including missing links in between NH37 and NH52, in addition to bringing
connectivity to all power sector projects as announced by the Hon’ble Prime Minister. The Highway will
be developed by upgrading the existing road network mostly of ODR standard under GS programme of
BRO and State PWD Roads to a 2-Lane National Standard Trunk Road.

4. The present report is a pre feasibility study from Khodaso (110.450 Km) to Hoj (212.450 Km) undertaken
by Sagalee PWD Division for the segment assigned to this Division in particular.

PRELIMINARY DESIGN OF PAVEMENTS AND STRUCTURES

1. The preliminary assessments for the feasibility study of proposed 102.00 Km from Khodaso (110.450
Km) to Hoj (212.450 Km) involves the following major components:
• Upgradation of existing single lane road to double lane by way of attaining a formation width of
12.00 mtr.
• Carriage way 7.00 mtr wide flanged with 2.50 mtr wide shoulders i/c Drain.
• Cross sectional elements
• RCC box culverts
• RCC bridges
• Retaining Wall & Breast Wall.
 • Side Drain
• Pavement corresponding to IRC specification 37-2001 (Second Revision).
• Land acquisition and tentative compensation cost.

2. It has been decided with the approval of competent authority that the overall formation width of
National Highways in hilly/mountainous terrain may be kept as 12 mtr, comprising 7 mtr wide
carriageways flanked with 1.90 mtr wide shoulders on both side and 0.60 for parapet & 0.60 mtr for Side
Drain. The drain and parapet/safety railings will be accommodated within the width of the
shoulders.
The increased formation width will enhance operations on the road and traffic movement in hilly
areas due to the following:
(i) More space would be available for the parking of disabled vehicles, without interfering with
two way movement.
(ii) Two lane movement of traffic would be possible in the event of some stretches being
affected by Landslides etc.
(iii) Movement of heavy/large size Military and Commercial vehicles would be easier.
(iv) Capacity of the road is expected to increase due to large space becoming available for
maneuverable.
3. Cross Section Elements.
The recommendations regarding the cross sectional elements as given in the IRC : 52-1981 have been
adopted for the proposed road :
Carriageway width : 7.00 m
Shoulder width : 1.90 m (Both Side)
Parapet and drains : 1.20 m
Camber Carriageway : 2.5%
Shoulder : 3%

For defining the edge of pavement and for the safety of traffic, parapets 0.60 m wide and
0.45 m in height in stone masonary have been provided on the valley side following regular
geometric edge of the road. The parapets would be in 2 m lengths with 2 m gaps in between them.
The parapets would have their transverse faces whitewashed.

4. Design of Pavements
As explained in earlier section of this report, construction of the proposed Trans-Arunachal
Highway segment from Khodaso to Hoj (102.000 Km) in Papum Pare District of Arunachal Pradesh
involves the design, construction and up-gradation of existing pavements for the entire length of the
alignment. For the present study, the design of new pavements has been based on the guidelines set
forth in IRC : 37-2001 (Second Revision) “Guidelines of the Design of Flexible Pavements”.
 In this method, traffic is defined in terms of cumulative number of standard axles (8160 kg)
expected to be carried during the design life. The structural damage caused by a vehicle depends
on the axle loads and as such the equivalent load concept is the most widely used method in the
world for pavement design purpose.

The design curves given in IRC : 37-2001 (Second Revision) gives pavement thickness for
different sub grade strength values and different number cumulative standard axles up to a
maximum of 150 million standard axles. The above method would require the traffic and sub grade
strength characteristics as the basic inputs for the computation of pavement course thickness. The
salient features regarding the estimation of traffic and sub grade parameters and design of different
pavement courses are given in the following sub-sections.

5 Traffic Characteristics
It can be well appreciated that estimation of traffic on a new road is a difficult task and this is more
so for rural roads. The minimum assessment of 100 commercial vehicles per day with a growth
perception @ 5% per annum has been considered for design purpose for 15 years life span.

It is known that National Highway No. 52 acts as the major arterial route for Arunachal
Pradesh. Within the state of Arunachal Pradesh there is hardly any transverse road link so that for
traveling from one district to the other, one has to come to NH52, follow NH52 and then take the
cross road to the destination. Hence besides the through traffic, NH52 also carries the Arunachal
Traffic which originates and terminates in Arunachal Pradesh. The proposed road is expected to
attract this volume of traffic which is now using NH52.

The PWD, Arunachal Pradesh suggested that the traffic volume along cross roads
(independent links with NH52) is around 6 vehicles per hour. This gives a traffic volume of 100
vehicles per day.

6 Design Traffic
It follows from the considerations presented in the preceding sections that an average daily traffic of
200 vehicles per day is a reasonable estimate for the road.

Assuming the commercial traffic component to be 50% of the total traffic volume, the total number
of commercial vehicle is estimated to be 80 cv per day. Assuming further that freight carriers would
be about 70% of the commercial traffic, the truck traffic is estimated to be 60 vehicles per day.

Vehicle Damage Factor

The IRC : 37-2001 gives indicative values for the vehicle damage factors (VDF) for different traffic,
terrain and pavement types. For commercial traffic less than 150 vehicles per day and thin bitumen
surfacing, the indicate values of VDF are:
 Terrain Initial traffic volume in terms of number of commercial
Hilly vehicles per day
0.5 0 - 150
1.5 150 - 15001.75
2.5 More than 1500

7. Computation of design traffic

(i) Two lane carriage way = 7.00 mtr
(ii) Initial traffic in the year of construction (A) = 100 cv/day (sum of both direction)
(iii) Traffic growth rate per annum (r) = 5%
(iv) Design life (N) = 15 years
(v) Vehicle damage factor (F) = 1.5
(vi) Distribution factor (D) = 0.75
Cumulative number of standard axles to be created for in the design equation
N = 365x[(1+r)n-1] x A x D x F = 886069.35 msa
r = 0.88 msa
Adopted for design purpose = 1.00 msa

For the CBR value considering 6% tentatively the thickness requirement as per Pavement Design
would be 675 mm and has been adopted inclusive of 75 mm Bituminous Macadam and 25 mm
SDBC.
25 mm SDBC 50
75 mm BM mm
200 mm WMM
125 mm WMM
250 mm GRANULAR SUB BASE

Total =675 mm
8. Cross Drainage
As a general rule, the number of such culverts is around five per kilometer. In such a case, if the
drains could flow with bed slopes towards two culverts from the central high point, the maximum
length of runoff would be 100 m. When the gradient is in one direction only, the length of run-off
would be 200 m. The intensity of rainfall is assumed to be 150 mm per hour.

9. Side Drains
The proposed road is provided with a cross slope of 2.5% towards the hill side unless otherwise
required for super elevation. A minimum gradient of 0.5% has been prescribed so as to facilitate
proper longitudinal drainage without increasing the overall excavation and depth of drain.

The hillside drain is proposed to cater for the run off from the road surface plus a distance of
15 m on the hill slope. It is assumed that the other areas would be drained by the hill slope gulley or
streams for which cross-drainage are provided. The longitudinal drains are to discharge into
culverts. For the present study, the number of culverts has been estimated using model
relationships described in the following chapter.
 Trapezoidal side drains with a top width of 600 mm, bottom width of 450 mm and depth
600 mm have been provided for the proposed road. The side slopes for the drain are 1 H : 2 V on the
hill side and 1.5 H : 1 V on the road side. The flatter slope on the roadside would allow the vehicle to
come out easily if by chance it gets into the drain.

For larger discharges, provisions have been made for larger drains. However, drains of
depth greater than 600 mm are not generally envisaged except at a few locations.

It is proposed to provide to provide kerb stones at 2 m intervals for the stretches where the
depth of drain is more than 300 mm.

The type of surfaces to be provided for the drain is selected on the basis of availability of
materials and type of strata. For rocky and hard soil stretches, provisions have been made for
cement concrete (1: 3: 6) surfaces with joints at every 3 meters.

10. Retaining Walls

The retaining walls have been provided at locations where the side slope is greater than 250. For the
proposed road, provisions have been made for retaining walls for the following areas.
1. Places where the valley side gets saturated in monsoon and slips.
2. Where there is a likelihood of damages caused by streams.
3. Places on the valley centered curves where rain water flows towards the valley because of
super elevation being on the hill side.

The retaining walls proposed to be of three types, viz, reinforced concrete, stone masonry
and banded. For the stone masonry retaining walls, the front face of the wall is kept vertical when
the height is small. For larger heights, a nominal slope of 1 in 50 is given to avoid the feel of
overhang when seen from the top.

Breast Walls
The uphill slopes and the slopes of cutting would affect the stability of the road. Provisions
have, therefore, been made for the breast walls for the stretches wherever there is a likelihood of a
slip or slide on the road. A standard design of breast wall of 3 m in height in stone masonry with
cement mortar has been adopted for the present study.

11. Bridges
As explained earlier, the proposed road would cross a number of rivers and streams. The locations
of these bridges have been identified 35 nos. of RCC minor and major bridges of span ranging from
8 – 60 mtr are proposed based on the actual requirement. The design discharge and computation of
scouring depth are indicated as below.
 Span Discharge
Sl. Chainage Name of Qmax=1.5xQ Scour Depth (in mtr) Type of
(in Q=RAP/36
No. (in Km) River/Nallah m3/sec Dsm=1.34[(Db2/kgf)]1/3 river/nallah
Mtr) m3/sec

1 139.220 12.00 Bobia 41.67 62.505 2.00 Perennial

2 139.320 45.00 Pare 55.55 83.33 2.20 -- Do --
3 139.800 12.00 Dee-Dolo 5.21 7.82 1.00 Seasonal
4 145.070 51.00 Khyate 62.50 93.750 2.23 Perennial
5 150.070 12.00 Gai 5.21 7.815 1.00 Seasonal
6 152.934 15.00 Sabso 46.61 69.915 2.00 Perennial
7 153.070 51.00 Tarso 55.55 83.325 2.20 -- Do --
8 158.870 12.00 Kulungbu 3.47 5.21 0.89 Seasonal
9 160.465 60.00 Pang 69.44 104.160 2.33 Perennial
10 164.680 18.00 Dardang 48.60 72.900 2.10 -- Do --
11 169.400 14.00 Mithun 48.60 72.900 2.10 -- Do --
12 173.670 51.00 Nimte 55.55 83.325 2.20 -- Do --
13 177.220 33.00 Balapu 6.94 10.410 1.08 -- Do --
14 178.400 14.00 Taba Tara 6.25 9.375 1.00 Seasonal
15 178.490 39.00 Pumbang 62.50 93.750 2.40 Perennial
16 186.890 10.00 Mowa 55.55 83.325 1.90 -- Do --
17 188.150 26.00 Soro 48.60 72.900 2.00 -- Do --
18 197.085 25.00 Sho 55.55 83.325 2.20 -- Do --
19 198.705 8.00 41.67 62.505 1.95 -- Do --
20 199.515 25.00 Lusin 62.50 93.750 2.20 -- Do --
21 201.185 20.00 55.55 83.325 2.34 Perennial
22 203.675 20.00 Tallam 55.55 83.325 2.34 -- Do --
23 204.015 10.00 41.67 62.505 1.97 -- Do --
24 204.175 20.00 Taj 48.61 72.915 2.10 -- Do --
25 204.485 10.00 41.67 62.505 1.97 -- Do --
26 205.415 20.00 48.61 72.915 2.10 -- Do --
27 206.125 25.00 62.50 93.750 2.30 -- Do --
28 206.525 20.00 48.61 72.92 2.10 -- Do --
29 206.755 10.00 -- -- -- -- Do --
30 207.245 20.00 Luksin 55.55 83.325 2.20 -- Do --
31 207.855 10.00 41.67 62.505 1.96 -- Do --
32 208.355 25.00 62.50 93.750 2.40 -- Do --
33 208.395 10.00 41.67 62.505 1.97 -- Do --
34 208.645 10.00 41.67 62.505 1.97 -- Do --
35 209.555 15.00 48.61 72.92 2.10 -- Do --
 COST ESTIMATES

1. Cost Estimate
The up gradation of existing road length up to 84.00 km to the proposed double lane trunk route
and construction of remaining 18.00 km has been tentatively based on the inputs derived from field
investigation data and compiled in form of abstract for cost estimation. The basis for cost analysis
has been derived from the latest Schedule of Rates (APSR 2007). The difference between the
prevailing market rates of A-Class materials like cement, steel and bitumen over APSR 2007, has
been projected in the estimation.

2. Land Acquisition and Compensation Package

Land acquisition includes separate provisions for permanent land forming right of way on 30.00 mtr
on either side from the existing surface. The State having a different set of laws governing the
ownership of land bestowed upon the tribal people by a recent enactment of legislation allowing
them to be the legal and rightful owner of the areas inherited by them from their forefathers. Their
claim over the hillocks being a part and parcel of areas covered under “Jhoom” cultivation,
dependence on natural forest for their livelihood etc. are to be given due consideration while
acquiring the land require for the project. Besides this, the WRC land, Horticulture/Agriculture
gardens, Bamboo plantations, Fisheries, Apnavan, dwelling residences of both permanent and semi
permanent, business establishment and other community based institutions, religious buildings etc.
falling within the projected acquiring zone are to be compensated for.

Keeping in view of these parameters, a tentative assessment of the existing features have
been compiled and cost evaluation has been attempted. Further, mandatory forest/environment
clearances from the competent authority are also to be given a due consideration prior to the
acquiring of the lands require for the project.