NEW DELHI: The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) has successfully installed the first special steel span of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor over the mainline Indian railway crossing near Vasundhara in Ghaziabad, in 100 days.
This is the first special steel span of the 17km priority section from Sahibabad to Duhai, which is targeted to be commissioned by 2023.
This special steel span is 73 metres long and weighs around 850 tonnes. It has been installed on the 10 metres tall piers on both sides of the Indian railway tracks by using a winch and roller arrangement.
NCRTC official spokesperson Puneet Vats explained, “The special spans are mammoth civil structures having beams made of structural steel. In the installation process, firstly the whole steel structure was fabricated near the actual location on the trestle which is a framework consisting of beams. After the structure was ready, it was to be moved on rollers towards the piers erected on both sides. This is a very challenging process considering the high weight of the steel structure.”
Vats added, “The fabrication of these special steel spans is so fine that they don’t need any finishing post-installation. Post this installation, the next phase of track laying and overhead equipment installation can be done immediately.”
To construct the elevated viaduct of the RRTS corridor, the NCRTC is erecting piers at an average distance of 34 meters. These piers are joined by pre-cast segments with the help of launching gantries to construct an RRTS viaduct span. Maintaining this distance between piers is not practically possible in some complex areas where the corridor is set to cross over rivers or other existing infrastructure. To connect piers, special spans are being used.