The Hindu : New Delhi News : Delhi Metro’s first signature bridge coming up on Ring Road

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Monday, Apr 06, 2009
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Delhi Metro’s first signature bridge coming up on Ring Road

Staff Reporter

The bridge is part of the 20.16 km long Central Secretariat-Badarpur corridor

DMRC’s Signature Bridge at Moolchand in the Capital.

NEW DELHI: Twelve metres above the ground with three large spans, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s signature bridge at Moolchand here is the first extra-dosed bridge being constructed on the busy Ring Road.

Running parallel to the existing Moolchand flyover, the bridge that will be ready in the next 10 months has been designed with the help of a French company, Systra.

The bridge is part of the 20.16 km long Central Secretariat-Badarpur corridor.

Free traffic movement

According to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation officials, the detailed designing of the bridge took four months as the company had to ensure free movement of traffic.

“Traffic movement below the bridge was not disrupted even for a single day during the entire construction process. The DMRC, therefore, adopted the extra-dosed technique as per which the 167.5 m long bridge will have three large spans with the central span being 65.5 m and other two spans being 51 m each,” said DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal.

The bridge has only two pillars (piers) located on the side of Ring Road to avoid hindrance to the existing traffic flow.

The segments of the bridge are being pre-cast in the casting yard and will be fixed up at night, again to ensure no disruption to traffic movement.

“To provide an aesthetic look to the bridge the supporting cables will be encased in painted tubular pipes. About 15 metric tonnes of 15.7 mm galvanized, greased and polyethylene-coated stands will be used in the bridge. The cables, which will be resting on top of the pylons, are being fabricated in Hong Kong and China,” said Mr. Dayal.

Special cement

The DMRC will use special M-60 grade cement for the body support (pylons), and M-45 grade cement for the segments to ensure proper strengthening as the bridge has been designed to have a lifespan of about 120 years.

“Fifteen per cent of the construction of the bridge has already been completed and metro train trial runs over the bridge are expected to start in April 2010 as this section is scheduled for opening in September 2010,” said Mr. Dayal.

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