The Process of Patchwork in Asphalt Paving Needs to Be Reevaluated – Davit Khajakhyan

The Yerevan municipality could adopt a new approach and set new standards for the asphalt paving of city roads, as there are quality-related issues and problems with the approach. This was stated by Davit Khajakhyan, the head of the 'Lus' faction in the Yerevan Council, in an interview with Tert.am.

“In many cases, I rate the asphalt paving works negatively. We need to reevaluate the patchwork process, which has not been done; moreover, the tenders were announced in the same manner. The more the municipality weakens supervision, the more financial benefits dishonest asphalt contractors gain,” he said, citing Arshakunyatz Avenue as an example and noting that after the new asphalt paving, there are still inconsistencies.

Commenting on Mayor Hayk Marutyan's suggestion to reduce the average speed of traffic in Yerevan from 60 km/h to 50 km/h, Khajakhyan did not consider it reasonable. He mentioned that while traffic safety is a very serious issue, it does not mean that we should resort to unreasonable restrictions. “If the cars are in good condition, then a speed of 60 km/h is completely normal under the conditions of our capital. In general, I believe that in such cases, we should adopt a comprehensive approach and not assume that if we change one factor, the issue is resolved,” he noted.

According to the council member, the government and the municipality have fallen into two extreme positions. “The first extreme was that after the change of power, the vehicles operated by the traffic police became much less visible, and it seemed that supervision over traffic was minimal. Then, seeing that this was creating a problem, they shifted to the opposite extreme—the ‘raids’ by traffic police. In general, supervising traffic on the roads is a periodic process, and conducting ‘raids’ from problem to problem will not provide any solution,” he said.

He noted that the government needs to move away from these extremes, refraining from nullifying supervision while also avoiding excessive fines for minor violations. Davit Khajakhyan expressed support for a points system but is not particularly inclined toward conducting new tests, agreeing that a rule-breaking driver knows they are violating the law but acts out of a sense of impunity.