The South Central Railway, Guntur Division, has accomplished a rare engineering feat as the works relating to construction of a Low Height Subway (LHS) under the Kankaragunta Road over Bridge (RoB) are nearing completion. The LHS would run parallel to the existing RoB ending the travails of commuters on either side of the track.
The Guntur Municipal Corporation, in a special case, has agreed to bear the entire cost of the LHS and deposited Rs.2.5 crore with the Railways. Minister for Agriculture Kanna Lakshminarayana, who is also MLA of Guntur West Constituency, took the initiative to lay the LHS fulfilling an electoral promise made in the year 2009.
A team of dedicated workers supervised senior railway officials including Divisional Railway Manager, Guntur, N.K. Prasad began the work at 9 a.m. and rounded up the most challenging task of entrenching 24 concrete slabs each weighing 33 tonnes each under the ground. Trains movement towards Hyderabad was restored in the night after the railway tracks were reconnected.
The deadline imposed was eight hours but it took a little longer.
As the combination of man and machine slugged it out under the sun- digging, levelling, diverting and finally placing each of the pre cast concrete block in their positions and finally covering them before reconnecting the tracks- it was a truly test of character and a display of perseverance .
Curious onlookers had a field day catching a glimpse of the works standing on Kankaragunta RoB. A group of civil engineering students too evinced a keen interest and some of them took notes for their project work.
The contracting agency for the Railways had engaged five earth movers and four cranes for the massive work.
The workers began by digging the ground and then leveled it. The Over Head Electrical equipment was removed for safety. The first pre cast block was placed at about 4.30 p.m. and within a span of three hours, the workers were able to place 10 blocks.
The DRM personally supervised the works from afternoon and was present till the works were completed. Engineering team headed by senior Divisional Engineer Murali Krishna monitored the work at ground zero.
Member of Parliament, Narsaraopet M. Venugopala Reddy and Vinukonda MLA GV Anjaneyulu took a break from their schedules and witnessed the works.
