BEHIND THE SCENES: Steel moulds for making Punjagutta flyover's pre-stressed concrete segments getting ready at the Gammon India Limited yard in Miyapur. — Photo: Mohd. Yousuf

HYDERABAD: Six months more. It will take that much time for the curvy figure to get into a final shape. While a few stumps have surfaced above the road and more are in the making, it is on the city outskirts that vital pieces making up the structure are getting ready.

The 2.1-km Punjagutta flyover jumping over three junctions — Rajiv Gandhi statue, Punjagutta and NFCL — over a very short distance of 4 km is a tough, complex construction having to traverse through a winding super busy road.

For the first time, the MCH has opted for pre-stressed, pre-segmented construction where foundation and pillars are constructed on the site while pieces that make the superstructure (road) are done elsewhere to avoid blocking traffic.

"High vehicular density and road curvature with heavy built up area on either side made us to opt for this kind of construction where the entire curvature is simulated at the yard before actual fixing is done at the site," explains Additional Commissioner (Traffic and Transportation) N.V.S. Reddy.

At Miyapur yard

The MCH and the engineering procurement and construction contractor Gammon India Limited say work is very much on schedule. "Much of the work is at our Miyapur girder yard where we have begun making the segments and high quality norms are followed," says Assistant Project Manager S.K. Das.

Estimated to cost Rs. 29 crores, the `unidirectional combination' flyover will have different ramps. `Main' flyover of two lanes will take off from Hotel Blue Moon and drop at the entrance of Jalagam Vengal Rao Park and another span will drop beyond Chutney's Restaurant.

An up-ramp for traffic coming from Jubilee Hills will be built at ICICI Bank dropping at Topaz Building. For traffic not using the flyover, there will be 20-ft (7.5 m) slip roads running beside all spans. Of the 44 piers, three have been built and foundations for 10 laid. Each foundation had to avoid or embed the existing public utilities' pipelines like water, telephones and sewers adding to the flyover's curvature.

"Precision designing is critical as the curvature has the maximum limit of 70 degree radius. Each segment will have different specifications, numbered and simulated at the yard before being moved to the site," say N.L.N. Swami and B.S.R. Lakshmana Rao, site engineers.

Within a month

In all, 12-13 segments 3 m in length each will be installed between two pillars and `glued' together.

To be precise, 503 pre-stressed pre-segments will make up the superstructure.

Segments will be transported during night to the site and fixing will start within a month even as other works go on, says Mr. Reddy.

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