Soil around pillar erodes, officials insist road is safe
The elevated road is completely safe.
There were some apprehensions after some dirt around the pillar caved in, but this was not the case. Some soil from the footpath near the pillar had eroded and it was repaired. RITU MAHESHWARI, vice-president, GDA
GHAZIABAD: The soil around one of the pillars of the 10.3km Hindon elevated road eroded after heavy rain lashed Ghaziabad on Thursday.
District officials, however, assured residents that the incident did not compromise the safety on the elevated road.
The dirt, binding the sides of one of the 226 pillars of the elevated corridor, was found eroded late night on Thursday near the GT Road next to river Hindon, Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) officials said. The GDA officials added that workers had been roped in to bridge the eroded area.
The Hindon elevated road, built at a cost of ₹1,147 crore, was inaugurated on March 30 by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and connects Raj Nagar Extension to UP Gate. The elevated road also passes through fragile river Hindon zone and also alongside the Vasundhara canal up to UP Gate, near Delhi-ghaziabad border.
Authority’s vice-chairperson Ritu Maheshwari said on Friday some of the soil near Pillar No 187 got washed away due to rainwater, but the area had been immediately repaired.
“The elevated road is completely safe. There were some apprehensions (among locals) after some dirt around the pillar caved in, but this was not the case. Some soil from the footpath area near the pillar had eroded and it was repaired. The road is completely safe,” she said.
The officials of the elevated road construction agency said that the foundation of the pillars is nearly 32 metre below the ground level and that shallow soil erosion would not affect the structure.
“Apart from a deep foundation of the pillars, we have pillars up to 22 metres above the ground level. Each pillar is made up of four piles. We have tested a load of 3,000 tonnes on each pile. So the road is completely safe and has sufficient load-bearing strength,” the officer said.
On Thursday, there were traffic jams and the Ghaziabad traffic police were forced to stop the vehicular movement from Raj Nagar Extension to UP Gate between 2.30pm and 6pm.
Traffic flow on the elevated road had to be stopped on Thursday after water got accumulated on stretches near the elevated road.
“The water got collected at the site as a retaining mud wall was removed due to ongoing work by National Highways Authority of India. We will construct a retention wall and have deployed four pump sets to draw out water in case of heavy rain,” Maheshwari added.