The Kolkata Port Trust, which maintains the renowned Howrah bridge, has chosen to scrape the bituminous road surface and replace it with a new layer.
A senior executive engineer of the port trust’s civil engineering department requested 27 working days to finish the project, which will include replacing the concrete deck slabs beneath the bituminous top where cracks had emerged, in a letter to Kolkata police a few days ago.
According to officials, the road surface of the bridge, which was revealed in February 1943, has undergone sporadic repairs over the years, causing layers of bitumen to build up.
The “dead load” of the structure is increasing as a result of additional layers of bitumen, and it needs to be promptly decreased, according to them.
Engineers define dead load as the weight of the bridge’s immovable and permanent components, such as the steel structure.
According to a senior police official, the letter claims that Kolkata Port Trust intends to carry out a comprehensive repair of “the deck surface of Rabindra Setu” because the road surface of the bridge hasn’t been updated in a number of years. The restoration, according to structural and civil engineers, was required to extend the life of the cantilever bridge, whose official name is Rabindra Setu.
One of the causes of the Majerhat bridge’s collapse in September 2018 is said to have been the addition of layers of bitumen over the years. Numerous bridge engineers had stated at the time that the instability of flyovers and bridges was in danger due to the widespread installation of bitumen layers without removing the previous ones because it increased the pressure on the pillars supporting the structures.
Between the two towers, the Howrah bridge is 1,500 feet long, with a carriageway that is 71 feet wide.
According to port trust officials, the superstructure’s complete load is transferred to the concrete deck slabs beneath the bituminous surface using 78 hangers, and the walkways for walkers are each 18.5 feet wide.
“The work order for fixing the bridge’s two approaches’ concrete deck surface has been cleared. The project’s overall cost is expected to be around Rs 3.5 crore”, according to a senior official of the Kolkata Port Trust.
The port trust aimed to finish the work by the end of April, according to senior officers of the Kolkata police. It aims to cut off a 200-metre-long and 7-metre-wide piece of roadway in stages.
“Engineers have sought a rider to impede traffic at night. They will need three days to fix any cracks that may appear in the concrete deck slab, according to a senior police official.
We’re attempting to determine if traffic reroutes akin to those enacted during the Santragachi bridge renovations are necessary.
Howrah bridge has been the epitome of culture and heritage for India as well as for the people of Kolkata. For decades The Howrah Bridge has connected Howrah and Kolkata and to date, thousands of people depend directly on it. It is now time that this historic bridge is taken care of and thus the government has taken a step forward in securing the proper health of the bridge.
