The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) completed the repair works on the damaged road overbridge (RoB) on the Trichy-Chennai national highway (NH) on Sunday.
After completing the stability tests and trial runs allowing test vehicles to access the restored bridge, NHAI is set to reopen the overbridge for vehicular traffic within the next few days. A road overbridge on the Trichy-Chennai NH to bypass the railway tracks near Ponmalai railway station developed a major bulge in a supportive structure on January 12. As the structure was weak, NHAI closed the bridge, and the vehicular movement was diverted.
Meanwhile, based on the inspections and suggestions by Professor P Alagusundaramoorthy, a structural engineering expert from IIT Madras, NHAI has completed the repair work in about 50 days. Officials said that soil nailing, a remedial work involving steel reinforcements in 430 spots of the overbridge to stabilise and strengthen the structure was completed.
The gaps and cracks in the bridge were also rectified through the grouting method. “We have submitted a detailed report about the repair works to the district administration. After ensuring that the structure is stable, we will reopen the bridge,” an official source said. Some of the unaffected part of the bridge was also strengthened technically. The structural engineering expert from IIT Madras inspected the completed repair works on Sunday.