30 days needed to fix Varthur bridge: BBMP
Repairs to be carried out at night. Span 2 and 3 identified as problem areas.
Bengaluru: After the initial inspection of the Varthur bridge on Wednesday, the BBMP officials admitted that there was a vibration in span 3 and span 2 during the movement of heavy vehicles. They also observed that when multi-axle vehicles cross the bridge it vibrates.
However the report, submitted by BBMP Chief Engineer S. Somshekhara, stated that it would take 30 days to carry out repairs. It also clarified that repair work would be carried out in the night and the day time traffic would not be disturbed.
“The first course of action is to carry out non-destructive test, which gives the capacity of strength of the bridge, With this we can see whether heavy vehicles can still ply or should they be restricted. The whole job will be completed in 30 days and the bridge will be as good as new,” the report said.
The lab report of Civil Aid indicated that there was some problem in the bearings of Span 3 resulting in vibration and they have observed damage in the deck and girders and some of the bearings.
Even earlier the BBMP has received similar complaints of the bridge shaking and the officials claimed that certain preventive steps were taken.
The civic agency has also taken the following decisions: Relocate cables which are running in the drain of the bridge by providing the bracket
Attend to the expansion joints with the latest of the treatment Neoprane or any polymer type.
To remove the present wearing coat up to the deck without damaging the deck and redoing the wearing coat with mastic.