Portion of bridge on Delhi-Mumbai expressway damaged, NHAI begins probe

Three months after the inauguration of the Sohna Dausa stretch of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, a small portion of a bridge on the stretch at Mahun village in Nuh, around 100km from Gurugram, was found damaged earlier this week, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials said Friday.The 246km Sohna-Dausa section of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway has been developed at a cost of more than ₹12,150 crore, the NHAI said.

The 21-foot long flyover falls on the stretch connecting Firozpur Jhirka and Pinangwan. While residents alleged that the bridge has already developed cracks, the NHAI said the damage was only on a small localised patch. They also said the depressed patch of around 4 feet by 2.5 feet will be repaired within the next six to seven days.

Villagers on Friday said they found cracks on a small portion of the bridge last Monday and chunks of concrete had fallen off the flyover after which they raised the alarm and asked the highways officials to intervene.“Just a month after the inauguration on February 12, the bridge had developed cracks and chunk of concrete had fallen off it. But when the matter was raised, the NHAI re-plastered the underside of the bridge. It seems that due to the movement of heavy trucks and lorries, chunks of concrete again fell off the bridge and the iron girders again became visible,” a villager said, asking not to be named.

When asked about the matter, Manoj Kumar, member (projects),NHAI, said only a small patch of the vehicular bridge in Mahun village was found damaged and he termed it a “very localised issue”. Kumar said a probe has been ordered into matter.

“Only a portion of the bridge surface, around four feet by 2 feet, was found depressed. The samples have been taken and sent for testing. An independent inspection of the structure has also been carried out and a probe is also underway. The small patch had some issues related to compaction,” he said.Kumar said there were over 600 such structures on the Sohna Dausa stretch of the expressway and this problem had occurred only on a single structure. “The rectification of this issue will be carried out in three to four days,” he said.

Officials of the highway contractor, CDS Infra Projects, said the damage to the bridge was spotted by their labour team on Monday, who were working under the bridge to lay pedestrian footpaths. “The cracks were spotted by the labourers who raised the alarm and we immediately barricaded off half the bridge to ensure that no untoward incident takes place. After observation, it was found that a patch of around 4 feet by 2.5 feet of the road surface had issues related to compaction. We have decided to remove this depressed patch and we will concrete it again,” said Mukesh Choudhary, deputy project Manager, CDS Infra Projects.

Choudhary also said density tests have been carried out over the entire bridge and it was found that barring the small patch, which is depressed, the remaining the bridge is stable and safe. “We have sent the concrete for testing to know what went wrong. We will start the repair work in the next three to four days and relay the stretch. A portion of the road will remain closed for around four to five days to facilitate repairs,” he said

The highway contractor said they have barricaded off a 150m stretch of the road and marshals will be deployed there to regulate traffic besides installation of blinkers to avert accidents on this stretch.When asked about the matter, Mukesh Kumar Meena, project director, NHAI, said he will speak on the matter after visiting the spot.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 12 inaugurated the 246km Sohna-Dausa stretch of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and laid the foundation stone of three other national highway projects to be developed at a cost of around 6,000 crore. The Prime Minister had described the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway as the “engine of growth, development and prosperity”, and said Sohna-Dausa stretch will bring development to Mewat and Dausa in particular.

Professor Sewa Ram from the School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi, said it is important that the design of the structure, load bearing capacity, the quality of concrete and other related elements should be tested to ensure that such incidents are avoided. “The design of the structure should also be examined and tests should be conducted to check the quality of materials,” he said.