The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has started work on its fifth bridge over the Yamuna river, as part of the Phase-4 Metro expansion plan. The 560-metre-long bridge, part of the Majlis Park-Maujpur Metro corridor, will be built between the Wazirabad and Signature bridges in north Delhi.
The eight-station, 12.58-km corridor will connect north and northeast Delhi, and will, once ready, put Yamuna Vihar, Bhajanpura, Khajuri Khas, Sonia Vihar, Soorghat, Jagatpur Village, Jharoda Majraa and Burari on the Delhi Metro map.
The city will also get its first double-decker viaduct — with Metro tracks on the upper deck and a flyover for vehicular traffic beneath — on a 1.4 km-stretch between the Yamuna Vihar and Bhajanpura stations.
In another first, the DMRC will be constructing a cantilever bridge, a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end, where the spans will be longer than the ones used in regular elevated corridors.
The bridge, to connect Soorghat and Sonia Vihar, is likely to be completed by 2023.
Anuj Dayal, executive director, corporate communications, DMRC, said, “A cantilever construction allows overhanging structures without additional support. Use of this technology will make the bridge look better, apart from lowering the number of piers that will be needed.”
According to a metro official, the use of cantilever technology will also help ensure minimise hindrances to the flow of the river, because fewer piers will be needed to support the bridge.
The official said, there are 15 piers in the 574-metre-long Kalindi Kunj Metro bridge. But just nine piers will be constructed for the Soorghat bridge, which will be almost twice length.
“The spans of the Yamuna bridge have been kept as large as 60m and 80m to limit number of piers needed in river bed, so there is minimum hindrance to its flow,” Dayal said.
The DMRC has constructed four bridges over the river to provide connectivity between trans-Yamuna areas and the rest of the city, between the following stations: Kashmere Gate – Shastri Park (Red Line), Sarai Kale Khan– Mayur Vihar Phase – I (Pink Line), Indraprastha-Yamuna Bank (Blue line) and Okhla Bird Sanctuary-Kalindi Kunj (Magenta Line).
For Soorghat bridge, the DMRC has constructed a cofferdam away from the active course of the river by raising the ground level. Dayal said, “The level of cofferdam has been kept the same as the level of adjacent road to ensure supply of requisite construction materials.”
Though the Majlis Park-Maujpur corridor is one of the shortest in the Capital, it is one of the two corridors where the DMRC plans to construct a double-decker viaduct for metro and vehicular traffic.
As per the plan, DMRC will construct double-decker viaducts on a 1.4km-stretch between Bhajanpura and Yamuna Vihar stations. The upper deck will have Metro tracks and the lower will have a flyover for road traffic.
According to DMRC officials, the integration of two modes of transport are being integrated because of the densely population in the area. Further, traffic congestion in the area has also necessitated a flyover.
A similar move is planned on the Tughlaqabad-Aerocity corridor, also part of the Phase-4 plan. According to officials, the double-decker viaduct will be constructed between Ambedkar Nagar and Saket G Block stations.
The tenders for civil work for the project were floated last year. The DMRC started the construction work of its much-delayed Phase-4 in December last year.