Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), 0n Sunday (12th July 2020) relocated a pipe bridge, which had come in the way of the alignment of the New Garia-Airport Metro link corridor on EM Bypass. The huge sewerage pipe, which was situated inside a sturdy iron box bridge a few metres from the PC Chandra Gardens (opposite the Atmosphere highrise), was lifted with the help of two 250 metric-ton cranes and relocated 30m away to free the alignment path at the approach of the upcoming Ritwik Ghatak metro station.
The gap adjacent to the twin canals near the Basanti Highway can be filled up as piers 217 and 220 can be constructed unhindered and girders can be launched one after another to cover the canals. A senior RVNL official said, “Now that the sewerage pipe bridge is out of the way, the two pillars will be built and girders can be launched till the viaduct touches Ritwik Ghatak station.”
The RVNL engineers and workers had slogged it out for one week to lift the sewerage pipe bridge and set it aside. “Not only did we remove the bridge from the viaduct’s path but we also relocated the sewerage pipe bridge around 30m from its original position,” said the official.
The removal of the pipe bridge was long overdue and put off by the agency because of sheer complexity of the job. It was done in three parts. First the effluence inside the pipe was emptied. Then the bridge was removed with the help of cranes. And now the relocated bridge is being connected to the crucial sewerage link that carries effluence from Garia and beyond.
“Instead of dumping the structure and severing the sewerage link, we have shifted it nearby and are now reconnecting it with the main pipeline,” said the official. “We have also cleared the garbage dumped below the bridge,” he said.
The girder launching of 10 spans over the twin canals will be done continuously in the next three months. “The viaduct will cover the twin canals and meet the station on the other side of water bodies by September-end,” said the official. The 32km Metro link between New Garia and Aiport has several such gaps.