Chitrakonda: With the bending of four pillars of the Gurupriya bridge in the cut-off area of Chitrakonda in Malkangiri district, the construction pattern of the bridge has been redesigned.
To oversee the construction work, an expert team led by Dr NC Pal, Executive Engineer, Project Head, Bhubaneswar arrived here today.
Talking to media persons, and Arun Kumar Sahu, Executive Engineer (Works), said the water level at Chitrakonda reservoir in August last year has increased this year. “With the increase of the water level, the number of piles of the bridge has also increased to 136 from 102 after redesigning of the structure. Out of 136 piles, construction of 112 piles has been completed. Similarly, the number span has also increased to 23 from 22. Out of 23 spans, girders are being prepared for casting of two spans. To ensure timely completion of the work, the team has come to review the mode of construction work despite rise in the water level”, he said.
Talking about the redesigning, he said decision has been taken to use steel girder in the deep channel zone in place of RCC girder so that the construction work can be completed in time. “Using steel girder in the deep channel zone will ensure timely progress in the work”, he pointed out.
Sahu further said there would be no additional cost in the redesigning of the structure. “The target for completion of the bridge is September 17 and we are trying to meet the deadline”, he added.
Asked whether work can proceed during rainy season, he said as per the suggestion given by the team, the work will continue even during rainy season.
Talking about the mode of work, Pal said the team has come to study which work can be taken up during rainy season so that work, which is going on smoothly, will not be stopped midway. “Our plan is to stress the girders during monsoon so that there will not be any problem if the water comes to the staging level.
Out of the estimated cost of Rs 171.80 crore, Rs 71 crore has been spent so far in the construction of the bridge which had started in 2015.
The construction of the bridge is being undertaken by the Kolkata-based Royal Infra Construction Ltd.
To ensure uninterrupted construction of the bridge, the state government has deployed BSF personnel, who have set up five camps between Chitrakonda and Janbai to ward off the Maoist threat.