Section of Gurugram flyover closed owing to cracks

Sumedha Sharma

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Tribune News Service

Gurugram, June 11

In what raises quality concerns over ongoing ‘speedy’ construction and delivery of flyovers and underpasses, a section of the 11-month-old Hero Honda Chowk flyover on the Delhi-Gurugram expressway was closed on Monday after several cracks developed in it.

The Rs 200-crore flyover was constructed to ease traffic congestion. However, the cracks have choked the highway all over again.

Long jams were witnessed on Monday morning with commuters having a tough time negotiating the route though the situation eased a bit later in the day as cops regulated the traffic.

“There was congestion especially during the rush hours. But we ensured regular movement of traffic, though slow. We expect things to improve soon,” said CP Sandeep Khirwar.

While NHAI and project contractor Valecha Engineer Limited officials remained unavailable for comment, sources said cracks were noticed in the morning, raising panic over the volume of traffic on the expressway. One side of the flyover was closed for traffic as a preventive measure.

It was almost a month and a half ago that a chunk of concrete had fallen off the flyover creating a 1.5m crater in the Delhi-bound side. The authorities, including NHAI and contractor incharge Valecha Engineer Limited, had termed it a localised damage done away with patch work.

Last time, the contractor had roped in experts from the IIT-Mumbai to analyse the stability of the structure in addition to finding the reason why a concrete chunk fell off the flyover.

The civil engineering department had then stated that there was a lapse in the quality measures during construction.

“Flyovers and bridges will undergo vibrations and this factor is always taken into consideration during construction. So, we cannot say vibrations caused the damage. But the damage was not a major one. It was repaired immediately. It seems the slab was damaged and it will not affect the structure of the flyover,” read the report submitted then.

Recurrence of cracks has raised questions over the quality of construction and led to panic amongst residents in awe of quick inaugurations of flyovers and underpasses in the city.