Construction of one module of the first metro bridge over the Yamuna being built using the cantilever construction technique has been completed, DMRC Managing Director Vikas Kumar has said and added that the entire work is expected to be completed by September. The bridge — the fifth metro bridge over the Yamuna — is being built under Delhi Metro’s ongoing Phase IV project.
In a recent interview to PTI, Kumar had said that this state-of-the-art bridge would be “visually appealing” and become an iconic landmark similar to the Signature Bridge. Signature Bridge, which connects Wazirabad to the inner city, is “India’s first asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge”. Its pylon is the tallest structure in Delhi at double the height of the Qutub Minar.
The bridge boasts a viewing box at a height of 154 metres that acts as a selfie point. It shortens travel time between north and northeast Delhi, according to the website of the North East district. Work on the under-construction bridge over the Yamuna was halted for a few days in July when the river had become swollen due to the rising water level.
“The status is that almost 50 per cent of the work is complete. It is in two modules of 290 metres each, the total length is 580 metres. And, one module is complete, having four spans,” Kumar told PTI. “Otherwise, the sub-structure is complete. The other module again comprises four spans, this stretch … so, the entire stretch is expected to be completed by September 2024,” he added.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) commenced in 2020 preliminary work on the bridge, which is part of the Majlis Park-Maujpur corridor being built under the Phase IV project. The DMRC is currently undertaking construction on 65.2 kilometres of three priority corridors spanning 45 stations under the project — Janakpuri West-RK Ashram Marg (28.92 kilometre), Majlis Park-Maujpur (12.55 kilometre), which are extensions of the already operational Magenta and Pink lines, and Aerocity-Tughlakabad (23.62 kilometre) that is being built as the Silver Line to connect the Violet Line and the Airport Line from the respective ends.
The Majlis Park-Maujpur corridor — an extension of the Pink Line — is planned to be opened by March 2025, Kumar said. The new bridge across the Yamuna will come up between two existing bridges — the Wazirabad Bridge and the Signature Bridge.
With eight spans and nine piers, the bridge will connect the Soorghat and Sonia Vihar stations of the Pink Line. “This will be the first-ever metro bridge over the Yamuna to be built using the cantilever construction method. A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end,” the DMRC said.
Typically, it extends from a flat, vertical surface such as a wall or a pier to which it must be firmly attached. Cantilever construction allows overhanging structures without additional support. Employment of this technology will make the bridge look aesthetically pleasing, it said. The DMRC said there have been many challenges in planning and executing this project.
“We did most of the work in time, anticipating the rainy season. However, there were certain things that were left behind, so we had to stop the work during the (recent) flooding. So, that got the work delayed. Otherwise, this bridge could have been constructed much earlier,” Kumar said. In July, the Yamuna swelled past the danger mark, breaching the all-time record of 1978 and flooding low-lying areas near its banks.
The DMRC’s top official said there were also other engineering challenges. “The design approval was in fact, it being a first bridge of its kind for the DMRC. The design, it took some time, but definitely, the execution. In fact, again, most of the work we try to do again, with pre-cast elements, whatever can be taken, and the rest were done in situ, following a particular method statement that we had followed. No surprises as such in this, because of our preparations,” Kumar added.
Aesthetically also, the design is such that from that point of view, it will be “very appealing to the eyes”, he further said. The design of the bridge was finalised using the ‘Building Information Modelling’ technology. With the help of this technology, a 3D model of the bridge was prepared with intricate details of the proposed structure, DMRC officials said.
The new bridge will cross the river about 385 metres downstream from the old Wazirabad Bridge and 213 metres upstream from the Signature Bridge, the urban transporter has said. Various eco-friendly measures are being taken during its construction. All construction activities are being carried out with minimum effect on the floodplains, the officials had earlier said.
Restoration of the floodplain that may be impacted by the construction of bridge alignment or pillars will be undertaken, they had said. The muck and debris generated will be disposed of scientifically and no dumping will be allowed on the floodplains, the DMRC said.
The four existing metro bridges over the Yamuna are at Yamuna Bank (698.8 metres on the Blue Line), Nizamuddin (602.8 metres on the Pink Line), Kalindi Kunj (574 metres on the Magenta Line) and Shastri Park (553 metres on the Red Line). Fresh targets have been set for Delhi Metro’s Phase IV project, delayed due to the Covid pandemic, and the first section of its Janakpuri West-R K Ashram Marg corridor is set to open by July 2024, Kumar has said.
The work on Ph-IV, which had begun in December 2019, was hit due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 in Delhi.
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