Oct 30
Hyderabad Metro – Imagineering at its Best
Hyderabad Metro – Imagineering at its Best
No construction project is easy, more so if it has to wind its way through the heart of a congested city. Hyderabad Metro Rail project has proved once again that it can take up any challenge and walk the paths untrodden.
 
The HMR project has 2599 spans comprising of 24240 segments covering a total length of 66 km of viaduct.
 
The construction of the viaduct posed a unique challenge since most of the spans were aligned along the median of major arterial roads of the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. This includes the 8 Rail Over Bridges (ROBs) over the electrified railway tracks and road flyovers at Oliphant, Bhoiguda, Begumpet, Punjagutta, Parade grounds (twin ROBs), Malakpet, Allugaddabavi. These ROBs form the lifelines of the metro project.
 
“Working in these traffic congested locations with priority for maintaining the stringent norms for Environment, Health and Safety of the commuters as well as the workmen, in itself was a herculean task which LTC and LTMRHL successfully carried out and completed the project,” says Mr. M.Y. Kondalu, Head of Viaduct & ROB.  A 30-year veteran of the Indian Railways, Mr. Kondalu is an expert in the construction of railway bridges and tunnels in difficult terrains of the Himalayan Ranges of Assam.
 
There are total 8 ROBs and Flyover crossings. This forms a distinct scenario as two different corridors pass one above the other over a 200m twin level viaduct constructed between Osmania Medical College and MG Bus Stand. The ROBs form a crucial link in bridging the metro and form the lifeline of the project.
 
Oliphant ROB
 
This is the first of its kind of Welded Open Web Girder type of ROB in the annals of India, constructed over 15 electrified railway track which has a rail underpass which caters approximately to 5 lakhs commuters daily. An innovative method of cantilever launching of the girder of 83m was implemented since no intermediate support between the electrified railway tracks was permitted.
 
The construction of the Oliphant ROB was carried out in two stages.
 
Stage 1:  The assembling of the 1450 T girder was 200m away from the location of the 1st pier of the railway crossing. The pulling of such a heavy girder itself proved to be a challenging engineering feat, as it had to cover 200m over 7 intermediate trestle supports placed at various distances. At each support the travel of the girder and stress behavior of the girder was minutely scrutinized to avoid any imbalance and reversal of stresses which would have compromised the stability and safety of the girder.
 
Stage 2: Post the girder reaching the 1st pier, the main process of launching began. The girder was launched over 15 electrified railway tracks, and the distance between the two piers was 83m. A team of over 200 engineers and their supporting technical staff worked close to a year to reach this stage. The successful launching meant the crowning glory for all involved and a crucial connectivity for the metro operations. The launching had to be coordinated with the railway authorities, after obtaining the railway blocks, for the launching to proceed without interruption.
 
The launching was described in the daily news editorial Hindu as equivalent to launching a satellite. The then MD&CEO Shri. Shivananad Nimbargi and Project Director Shri. M. P. Naidu were present throughout the launch. They waited with bated breath till the launch was complete. The MD&CEO expressed his thanks and congratulated all involved for the commendable and unforgettable performance.
 
Begumpet ROB
 
This ROB was a concrete segmental viaduct which was constructed using a bridge builder. Each segment weighed 65T. The length of the cantilever span was 31m over the electrified railway track at Begumpet. A total of 10 segments each of 65T (total-650T) were erected from both the ends before installing the central segment. Span Configuration: 39.5m+65m+32.5m (Prestressed Concrete Continuous Span).
 
Twin Corridor Viaduct
 
In a distinctive scenario the metros from two different corridors pass one above the other for 200m near Osmania Medical College. The construction posed a critical problem of diversion of an ancient Nizam drain and construction of 11 portals along the congested road, required closure of one side of the road and diversion of traffic. The diversion of Nizam drain and piling had to be carried simultaneously, along with traffic diversion, to avoid inconvenience to commuters.
 
Viaduct from Hitech City to Raidurg
 
The extension of metro from Hitech City to Raidurg posed an equally challenging task due to daily heavy traffic of approximately 4.5 lakh commuters, to and from the IT corridor. This involved widening of roads, extensive signages explaining traffic diversions and complete support of the Cyberabad Commissionerate to implement them, through help from the traffic department. Care was taken to follow stringent safety procedures to prevent any untoward incidents. Diversion of utilities was given priority to ease the construction of foundations and major construction activities were carried out during night since traffic density is low at night. Ensuring proper deployment of manpower and machinery, the work was completed within the stipulated timelines.
 
The Hyderabad Metro Rail project is the biggest PPP model, implemented for the first time in our country. LTMRHL takes pride in completing the erection of viaducts for the Hyderabad Metro and adding comfort to the life of citizens of Hyderabad to help reduce the traffic congestion and protection of environment by reducing the carbon footprint. In future Metro will prove to be the only option and lifeline of Hyderabad as seen in the recent rain showers. The commuters parked their vehicles and took up metro to avoid traffic congestion due to sudden flooding due to rains. A special mention about the cooperation received from the Jt. Commissioner Traffic Hyderabad & DCP-Cyberabad-Traffic has expedited the completion of the project (read Viaduct construction).

Comments

Marvellous feat

Marvellous feat
 on 11/9/2019 3:43 PM