HYDERABAD: After fixing the alignment and peg-marking for construction of the Airport Metro project, soil testing has commenced for determining the soil bearing capacity, said Hyderabad Airport Metro Ltd (HAML) MD NVS Reddy.
He said that soil testing will be done for about two months for 100 metro pillar locations starting from IKEA and going up to Shamshabad International Airport.
Soil testing will be done by taking borehole soil samples up to a depth of about 40 ft. from the road surface at each location. Soil bearing capacity will be determined through both in-situ tests and lab tests of the soil samples.
Indicating that detailed soil investigation is required for the design of foundations, NVS Reddy stated that the results will also determine other aspects like whether it should be open or pile foundation, required depth of the foundation, and allowable bearing pressure.
Further, these results will also guide the bidders to assess their competitive rates, as it would give them a fair idea about the soil conditions. The soil testing exercise which will be completed in two months is a parallel process to the tender preparation and other pre-construction activities and it is being supervised by the HAML engineering team led by Chief Project Manager B Anand Mohan and Superintendent Engineer Y. Sayapa Reddy.
All precautions including proper barricading of the soil investigation locations, information about the presence of underground utilities, traffic management are being coordinated with the departments concerned and Traffic Police, said Reddy.