Metro design still divides agencies

“The design of a concrete bridge has now been changed completely to a steel bridge,due to the Railway’s plan for an elevated corridor. Otherwise the bridge would have been ready by now. We’re still awaiting final go-ahead following which the work will start. Meanwhile,fabrication has already started at BBJ in Kolkata,” said K P Maheshwari,MMOPL director.

“We’ve been sending designs and doing the changes as per their observation and notings. On February 17,we sent structural design notes and drawings duly proof-checked and recommended for approval by consultant M/s STUP. Since March 22,WR has providing observations and queries on design notes and drawings and MMOPL is continuously submitting the response,duly recommended by M/s STUP against each set of observations and queries,” Maheshwari added.

WR has been maintaining that the MMOPL has not submitted the the final designs of the piers and girders.

“The WR wrote to the MMRDA in the first week of May,stating that the general arrangement drawing was cleared (by the WR) way back in October 2009. They have,however,not even submitted the designs of the girders and piers,which are to pass through the railway area,to their proof consultants. Also,since the structure will pass through the railway area,we need to examine it in detail and accordingly it will be cleared,” said Shyam Sunder Gupta,chief spokesperson for WR. Another cause of concern is that the railway has only allowed work in the two hours when services are not running.

“They have allowed work for two hours at night. We’ve asked them to extend it to three-and-a-half hours at least as one hour would be needed for setting up things,leaving only one hour for work. We’re trying to complete the work by December-end,but it now looks we would overshoot that by a couple of months,” Maheshwari said.

A third hurdle is that around 1.4 km right of way is yet to be handed over by the MMRDA.