Happy coincidence: Bridge check gets more elbow room
Times of India | 17 March 2024
Kolkata: A large percentage of office-goers switching their commute route to under-river will free up Howrah bridge to a considerable extent, making it easier for the custodian of the bridge, SMP Kolkata, to undertake a comprehensive health study, scheduled over the next few months.
The health study will come on the heels of an accident on Howrah bridge on Friday afternoon, when a private bus rammed into a pillar, leaving several people injured. A check was carried out immediately, at the end of which Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Port (SMP) officials said no major structural damage was found. “Engineers from M/s Rites Ltd visited the accident site around 11am on Saturday. An official verbally communicated that prima facie, no structural damage was found. Some footpath railings were first hit, absorbing the initial shock. But he said further probing would be carried out to confirm this finding,” said an SMP Kolkata spokesperson.
The agency had last year announced the plan for a comprehensive study but the process was delayed owing to multiple factors. Officials said they hoped to implement it soon, now that the rush on the bridge was likely to reduce thanks to the under-river East-West Metro section. Engineers said it would take at least 18 months to complete the study, following which repairs would start. The bridge won’t need to be closed for the exercises. “The health study will involve inspection to the smallest part, from top to bottom,” an official said.
The last time such an intense structural study of Howrah bridge was carried out was in 1983. It was then conducted by railways undertaking RITES and the subsequent repairs went on till 2003.
The Howrah bridge, officially called Rabindra Setu, gets a new coat of anti-corrosive aluminium and zinc chromate primer every year for the protection of the structure.