Kochi: ‘Metro man’ E. Sreedharan will be assisted by noted structural engineer Professor Mahesh Tandon, in inspecting the Palarivattom flyover as the first stage of repair works are nearly completed, on Monday.
The duo will be joined by Dr P Alagusu-ndaramoorthy, Professor, Structural Engineering Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras, who heads the expert team which found major discrepancies in the flyover construction.
“The work of replacing span joints set up using ‘deck continuity’ method with expansion joints is over. Now only the black topping of the approach roads remains under the first stage of bridge rehabilitation work. If the state government appr-oves, and the expert team finds surface rehabilitation works satisfactory, we’ll be opening the bridge for traffic temporarily,” said RBDCK sources.
While the expert team will assess surface repair works, E. Sreedharan is inspecting the bridge after the state government sought his expert advice. It comes at a time when there are demands that the bridge should be demolished and a new one built rather than carrying out ‘temporary’ repair works. The inclusion of Professor Tandon, president of Indian Associ-ation of Structural Engineers, is aimed at providing a...
“permanent solution” to the state government, whether the bridge rehabilitation process is enough or should they go for a new structure.
Tandon had earlier helped the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) with complex projects such as the Balanced Cantilever bridge at South railway station.
Earlier, the detailed inspection by an IIT Madras team found major construction discrepancies including cracks in girders and piers of the flyover. They also pointed out serious flaws on the bridge design plan, and also the construction quality, especially in terms of materials used.
The second phase repair works are slated to be taken up after monsoon, by September end. Then cracks on girders and piers will be rectified using the Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) method, also known as Carbon Fibre Wrappings.
The flyover, constructed at a cost of `46 crore, is closed for traffic from May 1 to 30 to facilitate first phase of maintenance work. This after it developed potholes and the surface became uneven within months of its opening in October 2016. The contractor, Delhi-based RDS Company Ltd, will bear repair cost.
