KOCHI: A two-member expert team from the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) on Monday visited and inspected the Vyttila flyover for a preliminary assessment of the quality of flyover construction. The state government had entrusted Cusat with the task after conflicting reports emerged on the tests conducted by three other entities viz., Public Works Department (PWD) NH wing, PWD Quality Control wing and Mar Athanasius College of Engineering, Kothamangalam.
Prof George Mathew, principal, School of Engineering, Cusat and Job Thomas, professor of civil engineering, conducted the preliminary inspection of Vyttila flyover in the afternoon. Speaking to Express, Prof Mathew said the team visited the flyover construction site and inspected the beams, slabs and the pier, where the construction was either complete or just begun.
“This is just a preliminary visit. We will outsource an agency to take the samples, which will be tested at our labs,” he said.The ‘core test’ is a follow-up of the ‘rebound hammer test’ under the ‘non-destructive tests’ for the Vyttila flyover. It will be used as a confirmation test to assess the quality standards.
For the core test, a small piece of concrete is taken for assessment. A cylindrical portion is drilled out using a core-drilling machine for the test sample. Cusat structural engineering experts will process the concrete sample and do a compression test to assess the strength of the concrete. Prof Mathew said once the samples were taken it would take only a week to complete the tests, adding that the School of Engineering, Cusat, had conducted similar tests in the past too.
The government is also trying to involve IIT Madras to check the technical aspects of the crucial flyover at Vyttila, being constructed at an estimated cost of `78.36 crore. Public Works Minister G Sudhakaran said last week that a high-level meeting held in Thiruvananthapuram decided to formally request IIT Madras to check the technical aspects of the flyover.
He said that Prof B Nageswara Rao of IIT Madras, who conducted a design inspection on July 1, had stated in his report that the design and drawings of the flyover were found to be as per the standard procedures.Cusat had recently executed a similar test at the fire-hit Paragon footwear showroom near the South railway station.