KOCHI: With the state government strongly opposing load test on the Palarivattom flyover which has been closed following construction flaws, experts in the construction sector said that load test would help ascertain the strength of the flyover before its demolition. Gupta Supratic, an expert on concrete structures with IIT Delhi, and Samuel Anbu Thomas, Director, STUP Consultants, Bengaluru, in a discussion held as part of Kerala Statecon 2020 organised by the Builders Association of India (BAI), said any decision on demolishing the flyover should be taken only after conducting a load test.
Supratic said that he inspected the Palarivattom flyover and found that the work was satisfactory. He said cracks on reinforced cement concrete (RCC) are natural. The strength of the bridge can be analysed only through a load test. “We cannot conclude that a bridge is weak after seeing cracks on it. Some parts of the bridge might be weak but that does not mean that the entire bridge is weak. Cracks appearing on RCC is natural. The cracks can be rectified by grouting. It should be sealed using rubber type materials. If hard materials are used to seal the crack, then fresh cracks will develop in other places,” he said.
Samuel Ambu Thomas said that if cracks don’t appear in RCC, it indicates some issues in the construction. He said load test is part of engineering. Now, most of the newly constructed bridges undergo load test. “It is nonsense that conducting load test on weak structures is a risky matter. “If the actual deflection is more than 10 per cent, the load test will be stopped. There is no safety issue in conducting the test. Load test is conducted to check flexural capacity by analysing the deflection,” he said.
Varghese Kannampilly, president of Kerala Government Contractors Association, said in the case of the Palarivattom flyover, the victim was made the culprit. “It was the contractor who pointed out flaws in the bridge and conducted half of the repair work suggested by Roads and Bridges Development Corporation Kerala. But he was put behind bars,” he said.