Aimed at meeting the October deadline to complete Kochi Metro’s civil works, Soma Constructions is expected to launch a dozen each I and U-girders in the Kaloor-Maharaja’s College Ground reach this month.
The contracting firm has so far launched 84 I-girders, while it began launching U-girders in the reach with the launch of a pair of girders in Padma-Rajaji Road stretch in MG Road on Wednesday and Thursday.
Two heavy duty cranes have been pressed into service for this.
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The firm has readied a total of 241 I-girders and 102 U-girders in its casting yard at Kalamassery.
“Metro personnel at work sites are faced with multiple odds since they have to negotiate within limited space in narrow city roads. The KWA does not have drawings that show locations of pipelines and sewage pipes and this often causes pipe breaks during piling. Even worse, KWA contractors take their own sweet time to trace and relocate pipes. Relocating power lines too is encountering delay. Despite such issues, frequent agitations and obstacles to sourcing raw materials, contracting firms are trying their best to adhere to the revised deadline for civil works,” sources associated with metro’s civil works said.
Apart from MG Road, girder launch is expected to pick pace on Banerjee Road during the coming days since efforts are being made to complete maximum civil works before onset of monsoon.
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Girder launch at Kaloor is expected to gather pace since demolition of front portions of buildings is underway to widen the narrow and heavily-encroached-upon Kaloor-Palarivattom Road.
There is all-round demand to speed up land acquisition in Jos Junction-Manorama Junction stretch and in narrow parts of SA Road so that the metro corridor reaches at least Vytilla by June 2016, the revised deadline for commissioning metro’s reach one (Aluva-Maharaja’s College corridor) .