The rebuilt Palarivattom flyover will most likely be opened to traffic on March 6, a day after the ongoing tarring and painting work on the four-lane structure is over.
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), which was tasked with the demolition of girders and pier caps and strengthening the pillars, had entrusted the Kozikode-based Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society (ULCCS) with the entire work. A formal inaugural function is unlikely, since the model code of conduct for the Assembly elections has taken effect.
The State government had given a nine-month time-frame to the agency to complete the work, which was further brought down to eight months by DMRC. But the two agencies are expected to complete the work — including ongoing ones — in a record span of five months and a week. Load test is being done on February 26 and February 27, said Pramod A.P., chief engineer, ULCCS.
“We deployed maximum strength of dedicated workforce, who strove day and night to complete the project within the shortest time span. High-quality pre-stressed concrete, whose quality inspection was frequently done, was relied on. Availability of adequate machinery and materials too was ensured. The society had completed work ahead of schedule even earlier. They include work on the last reach of the Kozhikode Bypass, which was completed in 16 months, instead of the 24-month deadline. The city roads improvement project in Kozhikode too was completed in 18 months, six months ahead of deadline,” he added.
The crash barriers alone will be painted now. The central line will be drawn 10 days after vehicles begin using the structure, Mr. Pramod said and credited DMRC with readying a smooth and hassle-free traffic rearrangement plan at the Palarivattom Bypass Junction when the flyover was being rebuilt.
Traffic re-routing
While motorists along the NH Bypass will use the flyover, those using Civil Line Road will be diverted through a pair of underpasses that are being readied beneath the structure, as per a plan readied jointly by DMRC and the traffic police, said DMRC’s chief engineer G. Keshava Chandran.
“Routing vehicles proceeding in the east-west direction through underpasses located approximately 80 metres away on either side of the flyover’s central span will do away with the need for signals at the junction, thus averting the possibility of traffic hold-ups. These pathways have adequate vertical and horizontal clearance to enable smooth flow of vehicles,” he added.
This innovative method was adopted after taking into account the smooth flow of vehicles in the east-west direction when the flyover was being rebuilt. These vehicles were re-routed through a pair of U-turns that were built on either side of the flyover.
The two agencies also took care to safely dispose of concrete debris of parts of the flyover that were demolished. They were used to level slushy parts of DMRC’s pre-cast yard at Kalamassery and to fill the area within retention walls of bridges that were being built by a government agency.
