Expert committee recommendations expensive, tough to implement

The flyover may have to be redesigned, says an officials

December 18, 2019 10:38 pm | Updated 10:38 pm IST - HYDERABAD

Implementation of the recommendations by the expert committee on Biodiversity flyover could prove to be expensive for the GHMC.

Among the recommendations by the committee are the suggestions to install rumble strips on the road, and to raise the height of the crash barriers on the sides at a few locations.

The committee was constituted by the State government with expert members in Road Transport Engineering, to study the design safety of the flyover. The decision was taken after two accidents occurred on the structure in a span of 20 days.

The committee asked the GHMC engineers to install rumble strips made of rubber at two locations on the flyover, besides the regular ones with paint at five more locations.

The rubber strips will need change often, based on the traffic passing on the flyover. Manufacturer’s assurance about their durability is for two years, said the officials. The two sets of rumble strips will cost about ₹1.4 lakh to ₹1.6 lakh every time they are changed. The strips made with paint too will have to be redrawn due to wear and tear, they said.

The recommendation to increase the crash barrier’s height too has become an insurmountable task for the engineers. For this, the iron rods jutting out from the flyover need to be increased in length, and the only option to achieve this is to weld the joints. However, the welded portion would end up as the weaker portion of the flyover, and could break under pressure.

The GHMC is also faced with the dilemma of whether and how to go forward with the remaining flyovers under the SRDP project, the design of which involves steeper curves.

The intended elevated express-way between IS Sadan and Chanchalguda Prison is a case in point, which involves curves at least at two locations. Another flyover sought to be built from Ram Nagar up to Baghlingampally via VST junction too involves very steep curve. Same is the case with the flyover the GHMC has announced between Uppal and Ramanthapur.

The flyovers may have to be redesigned if need be, taking into consideration the risks involved, an official said on condition of anonymity. As the tenders have not yet been awarded, there should not be any problem for redesigning, he said.

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