Shocking information has come to light that another bridge has collapsed in Bihar. Due to this incident, the traffic on the Kishanganj-Siliguri-Araria route has come to a standstill.
As per initial information shared by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways on Sunday, an unexpected settlement of 600 mm (approx.) occurred on June 23 afternoon at the pile foundation beneath pier P3 on Major Bridge at CH 24+461 having span configuration of 1x20m + 5x36m + 1x20m (total length 222 m) with PSC girder superstructure resting over spherical bearings on an RCC circular column and pile foundation consisting of four piles of 1500 mm diameter.
The superstructure was erected in May 2023 and the Bridge is not yet in operation. Fortunately, there is no casualty or injuries to any construction workers.
Preliminary investigation reveals that recently there is sudden rise of water flow from Nepal in Mechi River on which this bridge is constructed. Further preliminary investigations have also revealed that the entire river was channelized through the P2-P3-P4 spans during the construction activity, leading to the constriction of water flow and excessive scour of the sandy river bed. This has possibly contributed to the settlement of the pile foundation at P3.
Team of NHAI officers, the Concessionaire and Independent Engineer reached at site and taking necessary preliminary rectification work to avoid any further settlement in pile foundation at P3.
In the meantime, Team Leader & Bridge Engineer of Independent Engineer, M/s Chaitanya Project Consultancy Pvt. Ltd. and Sr. Project Manager & Dy. Project Manager (Structure) of Concessionaire, M/s GR Galgalia Bahadurganj Highway Private Limited have been suspended with immediate effect to avoid any influence on the ongoing investigation.
Further, a Committee of experts comprising of (i) A. K. Shrivastava, ADG (Retd), MoRTH (ii) S. K. Sharma, Pr. Tech. Officer – Bridges (Retd.), CRRI and (iii) Venkatram P. G., M/s L&T Infrastructure Engineering Limited has been constituted and is scheduled to visit the site today for detailed investigation and ascertain cause of settlement of pile foundation at P3 on Major Bridge at CH 24+461 and consequent remedial measures to be undertaken.
Notably, the construction of 4-laning of the Project between Galgalia – Bahadurganj having total length of 49 km has been awarded to M/s GR Infra Projects Highway Ltd. The appointed date of this project is January 10, 2022. At present physical progress is 70%.
