Taratala flyover sheds weight to stay fit
The Taratala flyover will be 1,800 tonnes lighter by the end of this month as the public works department has embarked on a project to remove 10 inches of bitumen and concrete layers from the structure that became operational in 2006.
A PWD engineer said engineering consultant Rites, a subsidiary of the railways, had recommended the removal of the load following an assessment of the health of the flyover.
The addition of layers of bitumen over the decades is believed to be one of the reasons for the collapse of the Majerhat bridge in September 2018.
Several bridge engineers had then said rampant addition of bitumen layers without removing the older ones was threatening the stability of flyovers and bridges by increasing the load on the pillars supporting the structures.
