Precast bridges can save time

Building bridges can be time consuming, both figuratively and literally. And if it is Adilabad where the bridges need to be constructed, it would sure be a messy affair unless some planning goes into the execution.

The black cotton soil in the district makes construction doubly difficult task and building of bridges invariably takes longer than normal. The first thing to be affected is the traffic flow on those roads for months together that too in non-rainy seasons.

Almost all important roads that require widening are being widened and elevating the existing narrow and low level culverts and bridges. For example all such old structures on the Gudihatnoor-Utnoor road and the Utnoor-Asifabad road are being replaced with wider and stronger ones.

Currently, 6 bridges are being constructed between Mankapur and Devapurguda in Gudihatnoor mandal on the first stretch and 8 of them on the second between Hasnapur and Dhanora villages. Traffic is diverted on the small semi circular temporary roads by the side of given bridge.

Made of clay mixed gravel, these diversions become muddy and slippery, often causing traffic jams once a vehicle gets stuck. For the two and four wheeler drivers, the journey on these roads is simply hell and more so when it rains.

“An alternative method of construction, at least of the smaller culverts and bridges, would be putting in place pre cast structures. Instead of consuming months, precast bridges can be put in place within a matter of 48 hours,” opined a civil contractor, wanting to remain anonymous.

The precast bridge building technology and methodology, which incidentally the South Central Railway has used extensively in Adilabad district way back in 2008-2009, involves making of the structure elsewhere and just erecting it when ready.

“There were bridges on the railway line in Adilabad district which were ‘erected’ within four hours. For the road bridge, the process may consume a little longer but not more than two days,” the contractor added.

“We have not adopted that methodology yet,” revealed R&B Superintending Engineer K. Raji Reddy. “But we are aware of the problem caused to traffic flow once it starts raining and therefore will not allow work on other old bridges until the end of rainy season,” he promised.