The Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) has floated a request for proposal to select a consultancy agency that will make assessment of structural condition of Aurobindo Setu and Bijon Setu and prepare a detailed project report for their repairs. The authorities are already in the final stages of selecting agencies for preparing a DPR and taking up repair work for six other flyovers in the city.
Earlier, KMDA had selected eight flyovers in and around the city for conducting their health study in the first phase. These are Ultadanga flyover, Chinrighata flyover, Sealdah flyover, Bankim Setu (connecting Howrah station to Howrah Maidan), Bijon Setu, Baghajatin bridge, Aurobindo Setu (connecting Ultadanga with Gouribari) and Kalighat bridge.
Since Aurobindo Setu and Bijon Setu are two of the most important bridges of the city, KMDA has separated them from the list and decided to dedicate a consultancy agency for them.
For the other flyovers, the KMDA authorities are in the final stages of evaluating the technical and financial bids of five agencies that have already been shortlisted. The five consultancy agencies, who had earlier submitted applications, were BS Engineering, STUP, AECOM, LN Malviya and ITL-Cortex. The selected agencies will have to submit their report to the state-appointed five member advisory committee within two months after starting survey work.
Sources from KMDA said that repair work of the flyovers would be taken up based on the consultants’ recommendations. They will assess the structural stability of the elevated structures and detect if there’s any internal structural damage. Advanced technologies will be used to assess the structural stability of the structures.
The decision to appoint consultants came in the wake of the collapse of Majerhat bridge. State urban development and municipal affairs minister Firhad Hakim had inspected some of the flyovers and bridges.
Source: Times of India
