Kochi: The Palarivattom flyover requires not just repair, but the entire structure has to be reinstated as there are serious errors even in the design and structure, according to PWD Minister G. Sudhakaran.
The government has ordered a probe by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau into the issue, and based on its report, action will be taken against the officials responsible for the lapses in construction, Mr Sudhakaran told reporters after visiting the flyover on Saturday. A report has been sought from the KITCO in this regard, he added. Responding to queries, he said that the failure of flyover is not a political issue, but an administrative and technical problem. The report submitted by the IIT Chennai team points to serious flaws during construction, he said.
“Three major defects occurred in the construction. There are errors in the design which were not verified or rectified during construction. The engineers failed to use their expertise and just copied the project plan given by the KITCO,” he said.
Both the Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala Limited (RBDCK) and the executing agency and KITCO, the project consultant, are equally responsible. The guilty team of engineers and officials will have to face legal action, added the minister.
A new technology called deck continuity was used for the construction to avoid expansion joints between spans, which has failed. Now a total of 12 joints have to be reconstructed with strip-seal joints replacing the deck-slab-continuity joints.
“Not even a single review meeting was held during the construction to assess the project implementation. For all the ongoing construction works under the PWD, regular review meetings are being held every two months which will help rectify the errors if any,” he said.
The private contract agency RDS Constructions is carrying out the repair at its expense.
Though there were study reports regarding the poor construction, the RBDCK delayed the restoration work. Now the work has to be completed at the earliest with only a month left for the onset of monsoon.
