Kochi: A whopping 2.97 lakh cubic metres of concrete and 44,640 metric tonnes of steel went into building the metro viaduct, 11 stations, and other structures in the 13-km-long Aluva-Palarivattom corridor.
A largely migrant workforce deployed by the DMRC worked strenuously day and night, braving rain, shine, slush, and dust to hew out the civil structures from this much quantum of concrete and steel. They were hardly visible, since tall barricades covered all work sites.
The tallest pillar on the stretch stood at 15 metres — the height of a five-storey house, while the longest span (girder) was 40 metres, both at Edappally.
The situation was similar in the city hub, where the task was more gruelling. The metro agency’s Kochi Project Director Dani Thomas explained as to how a huge sewerage line located around six metres deep in some portions held up piling works on MG Road. “Thus, the location of each pile had to be adjusted depending on the line’s location and their design redone, depending on the varying soil conditions,” he said.
Several U-girders that were planned had to be substituted with I-girders at bottlenecked areas when land acquisition to widen roads suffered delay. In many instances, permission of land owners was taken to knock down compound walls, which were then rebuilt in the Deshabhimani Junction-Kaloor-Lissie Junction corridor, he added.
New technology
“It was also for the first time that the DMRC was building third traction — a third rail beside the metro track for trains to source power, though Bangalore and Kolkata metros have it. The Communication Based Train Control (CBTC), which enables unmanned train operations, too was new,” Mr. Thomas said.
He credited the completion of all works in the 13-km corridor in record time to Metroman E. Sreedharan. “He [Sreedharan] was involved in decision making at every stage. He also spearheaded troubleshooting when complexities arose,” he added.
Land acquisition
Mr. Thomas attributed the failure to complete Phase-I — the entire 25-km Aluva-Pettah corridor — to inordinate delay in land acquisition on the Jos Junction-Pettah stretch.
Evaluation is under way on technical bids submitted by civil contractors, following retender of works. The demolition and rebuilding of the Champakkara bridge will be a key component of the works.
Already, a specialist firm is engaged in building a 95-metre-long balanced cantilever structure (a lengthy span sans pillars) over tracks at the Ernakulam Junction railway station.
The DMRC has, in the meantime, set August as the deadline to complete all works in the 5-km-long Palarivattom-Maharaja’s College Ground corridor.
