GUWAHATI: There had been apprehensions among people in general in the last few days on the safety of Saraighat Bridge following some cracks on the concrete surface of the bridge which was highlighted in the media without verification. N F Railway has stated that there is no danger to the bridge and N F Railway is planning to carry out a massive repair of the road deck portion in the next few days. The work will be taken up in full swing with round-the-clock working. As many as 80 identified deck slabs of Saraighat Bridge are going to be replaced. After completing the slab, Asphalt layer will be provided over entire bridge after replacing all expansion joints.
The old concrete joints on road slab had started giving trouble which resulted in falling off of concrete from the slab. As an immediate measure, thick steel plates have been provided to protect the deck slab and also to provide smooth ride. Such steel plates have been provided at five locations. For permanent repair the contract for execution of work has been finalized by Railway in November 2018. The selected agency for the repair work has arranged necessary tools equipments, machineries and required manpower.
For repairing to be carried out, vehicular traffic is to be stopped for 90 days, as the process will have multiple stages requiring fixing of new high strength steel and high strength concrete. In this connection the traffic department and local administration have been contacted and it is likely that repairing work will be allowed after Magh Bihu, a press release stated.
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