The damaged portion of the Hero Honda Chowk flyover, on the Jaipur to Delhi side, will remain closed for over a month, in order to carry out repair work on the spot from where chunks of concrete had fallen, leaving a hole in the surface of the road.
The incident took place on May 8 and movement of vehicles is likely to be severely affected on account of closure of a main carriageway of the highway. Officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said on Sunday, that they would be widening the service lanes to accommodate more vehicles at the crossing.
A 45-day period, starting August 24, has been given to the contractor for fixing the problems of the flyover. The work on expanding the service lanes at the crossing was formally started on Saturday, said officials.
Until now, the caved-in portion of the surface was barricaded and vehicles were allowed on the carriageway. However, movement of heavy vehicles on one side of the flyover has already been stopped by the NHAI, from late Saturday, to prevent further damage to the structure.
Officials of the NHAI said that the 15-metre-long and 16-metre-wide portion of the flyover, around the damaged hole, will be reinforced with steel and concrete. The decision comes after the NHAI accepted the report of a three-member committee that had been constituted on May 10, in the aftermath of the damage to the busy flyover.
“The work will be carried out as per the recommendations of the three-member committee and under the observation of NHAI observer. Special concrete will be used in the repair and steel will be added to the structure to add strength to the structure,” said Ashok Sharma, project director, NHAI.
The repair will be carried out by contractor Valecha Engineering Ltd at its own cost, he added.
Sharma, however, said that in order facilitate the movement of traffic, it has been decided that the service lanes would first be expanded, with two additional lanes, following which one side of the flyover will be closed for repair.
“Around 225 square metre road surface on the affected pier will be replaced. This will take time as concrete on surface deck will have to be replaced and road, resurfaced. Jaipur to Delhi side of the flyover will remain closed for a minimum of 30 days,” he said, adding that measures will be taken in conjunction with Gurugram police to minimise congestion at the intersection.
The committee that looked into the damage to the flyover and submitted the report comprised Mahesh Tandon, bridge expert, AK Srivastav, advisor to the NHAI, and VL Patankar, former director-general (roads), ministry of road transport and highways.
On April 24, 2018, chunks of concrete had fallen from the same stretch and repair was carried out on recommendations of experts from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay. The NHAI had to form a high-level technical committee this year, as this was the second time that the same portion of the flyover had been damaged within a year.
The 1.4-kilometre Hero Honda Chowk flyover was constructed at a cost of ₹197 crore and was opened in 2017.
A case was registered against the highway contractor, Valecha Engineering Ltd and unnamed NHAI officials, under sections 336 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code(IPC) on the complaint of a city-based activist.
