LINK TO THE FUTURE
Engineers Race Against Approaching Monsoon To End Work On Gigantic Towers That Will Support Bandra-Worli Sea-Link ….Sunando Sarkar & Ashley DMello | TNN
Most of the work on two of the tallest towers that will hold up Bandra-Worli Sea-Link will be complete before monsoon 2008, enabling planners and engineers to breathe a little easy as they race against time to complete construction of the bridge by January 2009.
Officials of Hindustan Construction Company (the agency building the 4.7-km bridge) said on Monday that one of the two 125-metre towers would be ready before the end of this month; and much of the work on the second of the two giants (the height of a 35-40-floor building) would be ready before monsoon.
The monsoon, and even less spectacular natural phenomena (like tides), are crucial to meeting or beating deadlines when it comes to working several hundred metres into the sea.
For instance, engineers often have to wait till high tide, which ensures enough depth in the sea to let heavy cranes do their work.
And several aspects of the massive engineering job have to be suspended in the monsoon when the Arabian Sea can be particularly
rough, making it perilous for boats to go out to the sea with construction material.
So the assurance that the two gigantic towers holding up the Bandra end of the bridge will be in a state of completion before the monsoon is good news for Mumbaikars who have to travel between the island city and the western suburbs every day. Motorists will save around half-an-hour of commuting time each way as the link cuts down the distance between Bandra and Worli from the present 7.7 km to only 4.7 km and the number of traffic signals on the way from 23 to only four (see graphic: MAKING A DIFFERENCE).
But skyward is not the only direction that planners have to look; they also have to look downward under the sea to ensure that Mumbai does not lose its link with the world in the rush to build a link between the island city and the western suburbs. Engineers have to tread with extreme caution lest their work damages VSNL cables on the sea-bed; these cables are crucial for Mumbais net and phone connectivity. We have had to use the global positioning system to ensure no harm is done to them, a senior HCC official said.
THE LINK IN NUMBERS
1. The bridge from Bandra to Worli is being built at a cost of Rs 400 crore.
2. The sea-link will have two lanes; one lane will be 4.7 km long and the other 4 km long.
3. The total sea-link project (including work done on improving the traffic situation on either end) will cost Rs 1,300 crore.
THE STORY SO FAR
1. The sea-link project was commissioned in 2000.
2. But work began only in October 2004.
3. More than 1.5 km of the carriageway on the 4.7-km lane is now in place.
4. More than 1.2 km of the carriageway on the 4-km lane, too, has been built.
DATES WITH FUTURE MARCH 2008: Work on one of the two mammoth 125-metre towers will be completed.
MONSOON 2008: Some aspects of work will remain suspended during the monsoon but engineers will have enough in place to go on working on the second of the twin towers.
JANUARY 2009: Every 50-metre precast segment, hundreds of which together will make up the surface of the carriageway, will be in place.
Officials of Hindustan Construction Company (the agency building the 4.7-km bridge) said on Monday that one of the two 125-metre towers would be ready before the end of this month; and much of the work on the second of the two giants (the height of a 35-40-floor building) would be ready before monsoon.
The monsoon, and even less spectacular natural phenomena (like tides), are crucial to meeting or beating deadlines when it comes to working several hundred metres into the sea.
For instance, engineers often have to wait till high tide, which ensures enough depth in the sea to let heavy cranes do their work.
And several aspects of the massive engineering job have to be suspended in the monsoon when the Arabian Sea can be particularly
rough, making it perilous for boats to go out to the sea with construction material.
So the assurance that the two gigantic towers holding up the Bandra end of the bridge will be in a state of completion before the monsoon is good news for Mumbaikars who have to travel between the island city and the western suburbs every day. Motorists will save around half-an-hour of commuting time each way as the link cuts down the distance between Bandra and Worli from the present 7.7 km to only 4.7 km and the number of traffic signals on the way from 23 to only four (see graphic: MAKING A DIFFERENCE).
But skyward is not the only direction that planners have to look; they also have to look downward under the sea to ensure that Mumbai does not lose its link with the world in the rush to build a link between the island city and the western suburbs. Engineers have to tread with extreme caution lest their work damages VSNL cables on the sea-bed; these cables are crucial for Mumbais net and phone connectivity. We have had to use the global positioning system to ensure no harm is done to them, a senior HCC official said.
THE LINK IN NUMBERS
1. The bridge from Bandra to Worli is being built at a cost of Rs 400 crore.
2. The sea-link will have two lanes; one lane will be 4.7 km long and the other 4 km long.
3. The total sea-link project (including work done on improving the traffic situation on either end) will cost Rs 1,300 crore.
THE STORY SO FAR
1. The sea-link project was commissioned in 2000.
2. But work began only in October 2004.
3. More than 1.5 km of the carriageway on the 4.7-km lane is now in place.
4. More than 1.2 km of the carriageway on the 4-km lane, too, has been built.
DATES WITH FUTURE MARCH 2008: Work on one of the two mammoth 125-metre towers will be completed.
MONSOON 2008: Some aspects of work will remain suspended during the monsoon but engineers will have enough in place to go on working on the second of the twin towers.
JANUARY 2009: Every 50-metre precast segment, hundreds of which together will make up the surface of the carriageway, will be in place.
BANDRA
