JANUARY, 2022

Volume: 50 § Number: 01 § Total Pages: 52

A view of Jammu to Udhampur Section of NH-44

https://www.irc.nic.in
 INDIAN HIGHWAYS
Volume : 50 § Number : 1 § JANUARY, 2022 § ISSN 0376-7256
Indian Roads Congress
Founded : On 10th December, 1934

CONTENTS
Ø From the Editor’s Desk 4-5

Ø Advertisements 6-11, 35 & 50

Ø Important Announcement 12-14

Ø IRC Techincal Committees Meeting Schedule for the Month of January 2022 21

Technical Papers

Ø Prestressed Precast Concrete Pavement: A Case Study 15

By C. P. Joshi, P. D. Naoghare, Arundhati Sharma & Dr. Ameen Syed

Ø Special Bearings of Signature Bridge at Wazirabad, Delhi 22

By K P Abraham & Sanjib Konar
Ø Integrated Development of Konkan Region in Maharashtra through Road and Water Transportation 36
By Dr. M. N. Dekate

Ø Practical Approach for the Safety in Casting and Erection of I-Girders 43

By N. N. Bandhu

Ø MoRTH Circular 49

FEEDBACK
Suggestion/Observation on editorial and Technical Papers are welcome and may be sent to IRC Secretariat on
Email-indhighways@gmail.com/dd.irc-morth@gov.in

Publisher & Editor: Sanjay Kumar Nirmal, Secretary General, IRC

E-mail: secygen.irc@gov.in
Headquarter: IRC Bhawan, Kama Koti Marg, Sector-6, R.K. Puram, New Delhi-110 022.
Phone Nos.: +91-11-26171548 (Admn.), 23387140 & 23384543 (Membership, Tech. Papers and Indian Highways),
23387759 (Sale), 26185273 (Tech. Committees)

No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without prior written permission from the Secretary General, IRC.

The responsibility of the contents and the opinions expressed in Indian Highways is exclusively of the author(s) concerned. IRC and the Editor
disclaim responsibility and liability for any statements or opinion, originality of contents and of any copyright violations by the authors. The
opinion expressed in the papers and contents published in the Indian Highways do not necessarily represent the views of the Editor or IRC.

Printed at: M/s B. M. Offset Printers, Noida (UP) ` 20

 OVERSPEEDING MENACE
Road accident is a negative externality associated with expansion in road network, motorization and
urbanization. Global statistics show that every year, more than 1.35 million people die in road traffic accidents
and injuring as many as 50 million people a year, with 90 per cent of those casualties occurring in developing
countries. Road traffic injury is now the leading cause of death around the world for children and young adults
between 5 and 29 years of age. We know that many factors affect safety of roads & road users i.e length of road
network, road engineering, vehicle engineering, human population, drunken driving, road characteristics,
environmental factors, distraction, speed limit, operating speed, etc. The approval by the United Nations of a
new Decade of Action for Road Safety (2021-2030) with a target to halve the deaths and injuries by 2030 is a
major milestone.

Road accidents are a matter of great personal tragedy, tremendous social and economic costs in terms of
valuable lives lost, medical treatment, insurance and damage to public and private property. The number of
people being affected both physically and mentally by road accidents is extremely high and Road safety has
become an issue of national as well as international concern. Engineers, planners, Government at Central &
state level and other stakeholders can certainly contribute greatly to improving road safety by adopting proven
techniques for safety management.

Excessive speed is at the core of the road accident problem, with 1 in 3 deaths on the roads in high-income
countries and 2 in 3 deaths on roads in low and middle income countries is attributed to overspeeding. It is
estimated that 40-50% of people drive above the speed limit, with every 1 km/h increase in speed resulting in a
4-5% increase in fatal crashes. Studies show that one third of serious accidents are linked to exceeding the speed
limit or driving at an inappropriate speed. Driving at high speeds makes it more difficult for driver to anticipate
oncoming hazards and react in time to prevent or avoid an accident. Several studies have shown that a driver can
react in as little as 1 second, most response times are between 1.5 and 4 seconds. The risk of death and injury
increase considerably when speeds are higher. For example, if a child crosses the road 15 m in front of a car
travelling at 30 km/h, it can stop just before hitting the child. However, if the car's speed is 50 km/h or more, the
child will be hit by the car and there will be little chance of survival. The speed limit is a key factor in
determining the severity of an accident which implies that setting the correct speed limit of vehicles is an
important factor for road safety.

However, we know that design speed is one the important geometric criteria for planning & designing of new
roads or upgrading existence roads in addition to other criteria like classification of roads, terrain, horizontal &
vertical alignment, cross sectional elements, traffic, capacity, sight distance, lateral & vertical clearances, etc.
The recommended design speed both minimum & ruling for various category of roads are specified in IRC:73
'Geometric Design Standards for Rural (Non-Urban) Highways' and also given in other IRC Special
publications i.e 2 lane manual; IRC:SP:73, 4 lane manual; IRC:SP:84 & 6 lane manual; IRC:SP:87 depending
upon nature of terrain. For fully access controlled Expressways recommended design speed is specified in
IRC:SP:99.

Now a days Roads are not only planned & designed for vehicles, but also to cater need of other users like
pedestrians, bicyclist, NMT, farm equipment, heavy trucks, Special purpose vehicles, etc. Already Ministry of
Road transport & Highways made policy decision that Road safety is integral part of road design at planning
stage and facilitate cross movement of pedestrian & persons with disabilities on National Highways by way of
Zebra Crossing, footpaths, flared kerb ramp, Tactile Pavers on the surface of footpath, Audible crossing signal,
etc as specified in IRC:103: Guidelines for Pedestrian Facilities'.

4 INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022

Planning & Designing roads is very challenging task and require to maintain balance between engineering
(safety, geometric design) judgement and environmental and other aspects. Recent studies showed that weather
is found to have a close relationship with speed and safety. The impact of weather may include reduced visibility,
stability, and controllability. All of these may alter driver behaviour and contribute to accidents. Speed and
safety issues are so interconnected that sometimes it is difficult to distinguish whether a specific factor affects
safety or speed. Most often, it influences both. These factors include environmental conditions, driver behavior,
and speed limit.

For urban roads, situation is more alarming as the most vulnerable road users share space with powerful and
heavy vehicles and also many lives have been lost due to irresponsible driving behaviour. So, there is need of a
new vision for creating safe, healthy, green and liveable smart cities. people want liveable roads, streets, and
communities where they can walk safely, where their children can get to school unharmed.

Due to the alarming rate of fatalities that result from over speeding, authorities are searching for new strategies
and techniques to solve this problem. Road Accidents, deaths and injuries which occur each year need not
happen. Significant reduction in accident rates is possible only by a wide variety of improvements in operating
environment and infrastructure, long-term and sustainable safety solutions, design of vehicles, and enforcement
of safety regulations and standards & strengthen national inter-sectoral collaboration. There is an urgent need
for Government to scale up their road safety efforts to live upto their commitments made in the sustainable
development agenda 2030.

Most countries make use of speed limit to reduce speed variance and encourage stable flow to further improve
safety. However, an inappropriate speed limit is easily violated. Therefore, the speed limit must reflect real-time
road, traffic, and weather conditions. A speed-limit calculation should be based on traffic flow prediction,
prevailing speed, and environmental factors, so that the limit will be accepted by most drivers. This may require
to fix variable speed limits as is prevalent in many countries.
In some of the developed countries, a small electronic device called the speed checker is being used which is
mounted on the vehicle dashboard, that signals by light and sound if the driver exceeds the prevailing speed
limit. The speed checker is activated by roadside radio transmitters and is linked with the vehicle speed metering
system. The speed checker should be preferred to physical means in speed reduction (road humps, rumble strips
etc.). In India Speed surveillance cameras are being used in Cities and some of the highways for enforcement of
speed limits. This is also very effective in controlling violations. There is an urgent need to develop innovative
and effective speed enforcement strategies and programmes involving all the road users in controlling the
menace of over speeding on our roads.
I wish all the readers a very happy new year 2022.

(Sanjay Kumar Nirmal)

INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022 5

 ADVERTISEMENT

6 INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022

ADVERTISEMENT

INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022 7

 ADVERTISEMENT

8 INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022

ADVERTISEMENT

INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022 9

 ADVERTISEMENT

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INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022 11

 IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

81st Annual Session to be held at Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) from16th to 19th April, 2022
On the invitation of Government of Uttar Pradesh, the 81 Annual Session of the Indian Roads Congress will be held at
st

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) from 16th to 19th April, 2022. The Invitation Booklet containing the Tentative Programme,
Registration Form, Accommodation Form etc. will be available in our website www.irc.nic.in shortly. Accommodation is
available on first come first serve basis. All members of IRC are invited to attend the 81stAnnual Session.
It is expected that more than 3000 Highway Engineers from all over the country and abroad will attend this Session.
During the Annual Session of IRC, there has been a practice for various firms/organizations to make Technical
Presentations on their products/technologies & case studies (with innovative construction methods or technologies or
having special problems requiring out of the box thinking and special solutions). The presenters will get an opportunity to
address a large gathering of highway professionals from Private Sector as well as decision makers in the Govt. Sector.
These presentations evoke lively interaction among the participants. A time slot of about 12-15 minutes is normally
allocated for each Technical Presentation. Time is also given for floor intervention. During such Technical Presentation
Session, no other meetings will be held parallel so as to ensure maximum attendance during the Technical Presentation
Session. The stakeholders are, therefore, requested to participate in the event and book presentation slots at the earliest.
Interested Organizations may write to IRC conveying their willingness for participation and send the topics of their
Technical Presentation by E-mail: paper.irc-morth@gov.in/ad.irc-morth@gov.in or through Speed Post along with a
Demand Draft for Rs. 1,50,000/- (Rupees One Lakh Fifty Thousand only) drawn in favour of Secretary General,
Indian Roads Congress, New Delhi latest by 28th February, 2022 so that necessary arrangements can be made by IRC.
For any enquiry about the 81stAnnual Session like Registration, Membership & Technical Presentation etc. please address
to Secretary General, Indian Roads Congress Kama Koti Marg, Sector-6, R.K. Puram, New Delhi-110022. For assistance
the contact details are given as under:

Registration Membership Technical Presentation

Shri Ajay Kumar
Section Officer
Phone +91 11 2617 1548
Mobile +91-9999901610
Email: admn.irc-morth@gov.in
ircannualsession@gmail.com
Shri Naveen Tewari Shri Anil Sharma
Under Secretary-II Section Officer
Phone + 91 2338 7140 Phone +91 23384543
Mobile +91 9811099326 Mobile +91 9899417608
Email: us2.irc-morth@gov.in Email: paper.irc-morth@gov.in
ircmembership1962@gmail.com Or
Ms. Shilp Shree
Assistant Director (Tech.)
Phone +91 2618 5273
Email: ad.irc-morth@gov.in

Local Organising Secretary Accommodation Technical Exhibition

Shri Ashok Kanojia,
Local Organising Secretary,
81st IRC Session
Chief Engineer, NH Division,
U.P.PWD, Lucknow
Phone No. 0522-2235835, 2237353
(PBX- 241, 214)
Mobile No. + 91 9554547035
E-mail: los@81irclko.in
Or
Shri J.K. Banga
Coordinator
81st IRC Annual Session
Chief Engineer (Building)
UP, PWD, Lucknow
Phone No.0522-2237323 (PBX. 203)
Mobile No. +91 8005423620
E-mail: coordinator@81irclko.in
ShriYogesh Pawar
Managing Director
UP State Bridge Corporation Ltd.,
Lucknow
Phone No.0522-2205815
Mobile No. + 7599380127
E-mail: accommodation@81irclko.in
Or
Shri Rakesh Singh
J.M.D.
UP State Bridge Corporation Ltd.,
Lucknow
Mobile No. + 91 9415010673
Shri A.K. Agarwal
Chief Engineer, Bridge
U.P.PWD, Lucknow
Phone No. 0522-2237323
(PBX- 212)
Mobile No. + 91 9839692613
E-mail: tech.exhibition@81irclko.in
Or
Shri Parvez Ahmad Khan
Superintending Engineer
U.P. PWD
Mobile No.+ 91 7572053993

12 INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022

 IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS ANNOUNCE “IRC-PROF B.B. PANDEY MEMORIAL

AWARD” FOR TECHNICAL PAPERS ON OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION/WORK IN
PAVEMENT ENGINEERING

TITLE OF AWARD: “IRC-PROF B.B. PANDEY MEMORIAL AWARD”

Purpose: To boost the morale of Engineers to write Technical Papers on Pavement Engineering for
possible publications in IRC Periodicals.

Eligibility: IRC Members/Engineers working with Government Department/Academic

Institutions/Research Organizations/Private Sector/NGOs etc. and eligible to contribute Papers and
outstanding contributions will be selected for the award. The Paper should be authorized by maximum 3
authors.

The Award will be presented to the Best Paper/Outstanding Contributions published in IRC
Periodicals(s) during the years.

This Award will be presented to engineers having a bright concept to improve Pavement Engineering
research and practice.

Interested engineers may submit original technical Papers to IRC Secretariat. The submitted Paper
should not previously or simultaneously be published elsewhere, and will be critically reviewed by IRC
before they are published.

The length of Paper should be upto 5000 words and must be written in English and should have sound
grammar and proper terminologies, tables, figures, graphs, photographs, etc.

PRESENTATION OF THE AWARD:

After proper evaluation Paper may be accepted/ rejected depending on quality among published Papers
for outstanding contribution/work in pavement engineering and best Paper will be awarded during
Annual Session of IRC.

INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022 13

 IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

CALL FOR TECHNICAL PAPERS

1. The Indian Roads Congress (IRC) invites technical Papers for publication in its periodicals i.e. Indian
Highways (monthly), Journal of the IRC (quarterly) & Highway Research Journal (half yearly)
2. The contents of papers should cover the additional knowledge, information and ideas so that highway
fraternity gets benefitted from them. The papers should be properly structured and should avoid
dwellings at length on facts broadly known to highway engineers. the papers may deal with important
case studies, new design concepts/ principles, new construction techniques, modern quality control,
modern maintenance techniques applied in highway projects, besides traffic engineering, transport
planning, etc. including a paragraph on application of Paper to Highway Profession and updation of
IRC Codes.
3. Authors and Co-authors should be members of IRC and their Roll Numbers should be mentioned in
the forwarding letter. Even non-members, who are Experts in any relevant field or who have
specialized knowledge on any subject related to highway engineering are also welcome to contribute
technical Papers.
4. The length of the paper should be upto 5000 words including tables, Figures, Photographs, etc. on A4
size paper with 12 pt. font size of times New Roman, typed in 1.5 line space.
5. The papers so received from Authors are sent to a panel of experts and are considered for publication
after obtaining their views about acceptability of the paper.
6. IRC reserves the right to publish any paper in the form of an abstract. when a paper is published in an
abstract form, the manuscript of the paper as sent by the author will be added to the IRC.
7. Library and made available for inspection by interested members.
For more details and rules for contribution of technical Papers please visit IRC website:
www.irc.nic.in. For further Contact Tel. No. 011 2338 4543 E-mail: paper.irc-morth@gov.in
/papers.irc@gmail.com

ADVERTISEMNT TARIFF FOR INDIAN HIGHWAYS

14 INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022

 PRESTRESSED PRECAST CONCRETE PAVEMENT: A CASE STUDY

C. P. JOSHI1 P. D. NAOGHARE 2 ARUNDHATI SHARMA3 DR. AMEEN SYED4

ABSTRACT
In recent years there has been an exponential increase in the construction of Concrete Pavements. This occurred due to the
increasing need for a durable pavement solution. However, the long construction duration of concrete pavement made it
difficult to implement in locations with heavy round the hour traffic, congested localities, etc. Prestressed Precast Concrete
Pavement (PPCP) technology provides a simple and effective solution for the construction of durable pavement in a short time.
This paper provides details regarding an implementation of PPCP in Amravati, Maharashtra.

1. INTRODUCTION to extended lane closure is reduced by 25% upon the

Increasing traffic intensity has compelled the highway
agencies throughout the world to explore faster and more
durable ways of pavement construction. The construction
of flexible pavement proves to be faster but requires
frequent maintenance. On the contrary, the frequency of
maintenance required by a concrete pavement is very less,
but the duration of construction is very high. These
conditions encouraged the researchers around the world to
look into Prestressed Precast Concrete Pavement (PPCP)
technology, which integrates the advantage of both by
providing fast construction and low maintenance.
The basic procedure of PPCP construction is mostly
similar to a regular concrete pavement. The base course
needs to be prepared same as that of a regular concrete
pavement with the only addition being that of a levelling
course just below the panels. Maintaining the quality of
PPCP is easier as they are manufactured in a controlled
environment and there is no scope of early age cracks and
other environment-related distress to occur. The finished
panels are to be transported to the site with the help of a
wide bed trolley and placed over a perfectly prepared
levelling course. PPCP allows us to construct or repair a
concrete pavement in a limited time duration which helps
reduce the accidental risks related to traffic congestion.
Based upon the traffic data collected by Missouri
Department of Transport (DOT), the user cost incurred due
application of PCP, as it requires the lane to be closed only
for limited non-traffic durations (Gopalaratnam et al.
2006). A detailed study of various types of PPCP that have
been implemented till date has been done and their
feasibility has also been studied (Syed and Sonparote
2020). Based upon these studies, a PPCP project has also
been undertaken by Public Works Department (PWD) at
Amravati City, Maharashtra.
This paper gives details regarding the design and
construction of Prestressed Precast Concrete Pavement
(PPCP) for implementation at Nagpuri Gate Police Station
to Kolhapuri Gate Police Station, Amravati, Maharashtra.
In particular the aspects related to the panel dimensioning,
Load Transfer Mechanism, Base Preparation Method,
Lifting arrangement and quality of material like concrete
and grout required for the panels are discussed in detail.
Additionally, the practical problems related to the
construction of PPCP are also discussed.
2. DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION
There are few aspects of PPCP that require careful
consideration for successful implementation, namely:
i. Panel Details
ii. Load Transfer Mechanism (LTM)
iii. Base Preparation Method (BPM)
iv. Lifting Arrangement

1 OSD & IE MSRDC Ltd. and Ex. Secretary, PWD Maharashtra, Email: joshicp1962@gmail.com
2 Chief Engineer, Email: pd_naoghare@yhaoo.co.in
3 Superintending Engineer, Email: sharma.arundhati03@gmail.com
} PW Region Amravati, Maharashtra

4 Director, CC Precast Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Nagpur, Email: ameensyed20@gmail.com

INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022 15

 TECHNICAL PAPER

2.1 Panel Details caused due to every axle load. The CFD is calculated from
this by considering the repetitions of each of such axle
2.1.1 Panel width and length loads. Based upon the traffic data acquired the Axle Load
There are multiple factors that affect the size of the PPCP data is as shown in Table 3.
panels. The most important being the site conditions. The Table 2 Basic Design Parameters
width of a PPCP panel is basically defined by the
carriageway width required at the site. The present site is Design Life, n = 30 yrs
having a length if 1100 m and upon conducting a through Contact Pressure = 0.8 Mpa
survey, it was identified that the available width varies at
different chainages. As per the site situation it was Panel Length = 2.5 m
understood that a total of 773 no of panels are required
having a width of 5 m, 49 are required having a width of 3.5 Panel Width = 3.7 m
m and 49 are required having a width of 4 m.
Concrete flexural strength, ff = 4.696 Mpa
It has been observed from multiple experiences (Smith and
Snyder 2016) that the stresses developed in the panel K (GSB+DLC 100mm M15) = 231.3 MPa/m
increase considerably when the ratio of length to width of Grade of concrete = 45 Mpa
the panel is increased above 1.5. Additionally, maintaining
this ratio for a 5 m panel would require the minimum length Flexural strength at 90 days = 5.165 Mpa
of the panel to be 3.33 m. The weight of such a panel having
a size of 5 m x 3.33 m would be min. 8658 kg which would Present Traffic, A = 1823 cvpd
make it difficult to handle considering the available
machinery and site conditions. Considering all these Traffic increase rate, r = 0.050
factors, it was decided to make 2.5 m wide panels instead of Poisons Ratio = 0.15
5 m wide panels. The final sizes of the panels decided based
upon the site situation are mentioned in Table 1. Trial Thickness,th = 0.2 m
Table 1 Panels Required for Site
Table 3 Axle Load Survey Data
Sr. No. Panel Panel Panel Total
Width (m) Width (m) Width (kg) Nos Single Axle Load
required
Axle Load Class (kN) Percentage of Axle Loads
1. 3.7 2.5 4810 1045
150 2.22
2. 2.5 3.5 4550 49
140 20
3. 2.5 4.0 5200 49 130 33.33
Total Panels required 1143 120 20
2.1.2 Panel thickness 110 8.89
The thickness of the panel has a major impact on the 100 8.89
economy of the panel. The thickness of the panels are
governed by multiple factors which needs to be considered 90 6.67
consecutively for the thickness design of the panel. The Total 100
thickness design of PPCP panel depends primarily upon
the stresses exhibited on the panel considering the Considering the above data, a minimum prestress of 0.091
temperature stresses, vehicular stresses, prestress and a MPa was required to obtain a CFD of 0.91 i.e. less than 1.
However, the maximum flexural stress generated in the
combination of all. A detailed FE Model is prepared to
panel considering Axle Load stress of 2.496 MPa and
compute the effect of the combination of these stresses. The Temperature Stress of 2.88 MPa the cumulative stress with
FE Model is prepared using 3DR element and provide the no Prestressing comes out to be 5.376 MPa. The maximum
stresses for different axle loads that the pavement will be flexural strength of M40 grade concrete that is being used
subjected to during its design life. The basic parameters for PPCP Panel production is 4.87 MPa, and hence the
considered for the design are mentioned in Table 2. prestress or the thickness of the panel needs to be increased.
Increasing the prestress is a more economically viable
As this design is being performed for Indian scenario, the option and hence an increase of prestress to 0.341 MPa is
thickness design was customized such that it follows the done which gives a CFD of 0 and hence can be considered
Cumulative Fatigue Damage (CFD) check suggested by as highly conservative design (Table 4). Additionally the
IRC:58-2015. These stresses are used to obtain Stress Ratio same data is used to obtain the critical stress at the edge,
(SR) which in turn is used to calculate the Fatigue Damage corner and interior of the panel considering the temperature

16 INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022

 TECHNICAL PAPER

as well as axle loads (Table 5).The prestressing is ensure uniform prestressing force. The details of the
performed by providing a 4 mm HT wire in two layers to prestress is mentioned in Table 6.
Table 4 CFD Check
Axle Load Stress (MPa) Prestess Stress Ratio Expected Fatigue Life Fatigue Life
Class (t) ALxLSF (MPa) Repetition Consumption
Single Axle Load
150 150 2.496 0.341 0.417 577074.6 unlimited 0
140 140 2.330 0.341 0.385 5198869.8 unlimited 0
130 130 2.163 0.341 0.353 8663916.6 unlimited 0
120 120 1.997 0.341 0.321 5198869.8 unlimited 0
110 110 1.831 0.341 0.288 2310897.6 unlimited 0
100 100 1.664 0.341 0.256 2310897.6 unlimited 0
90 90 1.498 0.341 0.224 1733823.1 unlimited 0

Table 5 Maximum Stress in the Panel 2.5 m x 3.7 m

Stress 2.53 x 3.7m 2.5m x 3.5m 2.5m x 4.0m
(MPa)
Edge Corner interior Edge Corner Interior Edge Corner Interior
Vechicular 2.496 2.19 1.45 2.49 2.18 1.42 2.51 2.21 1.51
Temperature 2.88 1.61 3.23 2.68 1.54 3.12 2.92 1.65 3.31
Prestressing 0.34 0.34 0.34 0.34 0.34 0.34 0.34 0.34 0.34
Total 5.04 3.46 4.34 4.83 3.38 4.20 5.09 3.52 4.48

The maximum stress is below the 90 days flexural strength
of concrete (5.165 MPa) and hence is safe for the provided
thickness and prestress.
Table 6 Prestressing of Panels
2.1.3 Panel casting
The casting of the panel is performed over a precast steel
table top to ensure perfection in its level and to provide
maximum vibrations using shutter vibrators (Photo. 1). It
is extremely important to ensure that the mould is set
within the tolerance regarding its shape and size having the
required dimension and the diagonal. Once the moulds are
set and oiled properly, the prestressing tendons are inserted
and the pre-tensioning is performed (Photo 2).The
prestressing was performed such that 22 panels were pre-
tensioned in a single length. It was performed using a 4 mm
Prestressing wire having a maximum force of 18 kN per
wire. This gave an effective prestress of 1457.5 MPa per
tendon. In one casting a total of 32 tendons are pre-
tensioned by the support of end anchor beam.
As soon as the pre-tensioning is performed, it is important
to check the diagonals of each mould. It is also important to
ensure the alignment and level of the dowels present at one
edge of the panel are in line. The casting of the panel is
performed using M40 grade of concrete and its mix
proportion is mentioned in Table 7. The performance of the
concrete was found to be as per requirement and its test
results are mentioned in Table 8.

INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022 17

 TECHNICAL PAPER

placing the panel above it. The rafters are located along the
line of the lifting slots to ensure a similar stress is
developed in the panel as that while lifting the panel.
Additionally, it is necessary to ensure that the rafter is
placed one over the other and not eccentrically, which may
cause development of high moments on the concrete. The
curing activity is performed using curing compound for the
critical initial 72 hrs curing. Later the curing is carried out
using simple hessen cloth, as can be seen from Photo 3.

Table 8 Concrete Test Results

Sr Description Units Value Target
No Value
Photo. 1 Vibrating Table 1 3 day Compressive MPa 21.20 20
Strength
2 7 day Compressive Mpa 37.12 28
Strength
3 28 day Compressive Mpa 53.15 40
Strength
4 Flexural Strength Mpa 5.10 4.43

Photo. 2 Prestressing of Panels

Table 7 Concrete Mix Design for M40 Grade
Description Quantity Proportion Remarks
(kg)
Cement 400
1
Fly ash 50
Fine Aggregate 800 1.78 Natural
Sand only Photo. 3 Prestressing of Panels
10 mm Coarse Aggregate 400 2.2 Load Transfer Mechanism (LTM)
2.67
20 mm Coarse Aggregate 800 There are many types of LTMs developed around the world
Admixture 3.2 8% (Tayabji et al. 2012). In India, four different types of
jointing systems have been used. The first implementation
water 160 0.36 in India was performed at VNIT campus, Nagpur using
2.1.4 Panel stacking Lateral Dowel LTM (Syed and Sonaprote 2019). This
mechanism was not used further as it was difficult to
The stacking of panel is a critical activity. In a stack of 4, implement at other locations. The next implementation was
the lowest panel is subjected to a load of the above three performed at Inner Ring Road, Nagpur in which Top Slot
panels. A little imbalance in the bottom panel setting might LTM was used. This was an easy to use mechanism and had
cause the cracking of the panel. The panels shall be stacked the potential to give good results. However, the main
using wooden rafters (Photo. 3). These rafters are capable drawback of this system was the grout slots visible at the
of cushioning any impact on the bottom panel while top of the pavement surface. The grout that fills these slots

18 INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022

 TECHNICAL PAPER

gets eroded eventually and may turn into a serious safety
concern. The third implementation was performed at
Rajeev Nagar, Hingna, Nagpur wherein Sliding Slot LTM
was used. This system was very promising and gave good
results. The pavement is performing very well. However,
the sliding slots left a considerable mark on the pavement
surface and might require maintenance in the coming
future. The fourth implementation was done at Deolamethi,
Nagpur wherein bottom slot LTM was used which
performed excellent and also gives a good top surface. The
finished PPCP road has been shown in Photo 4.This
mechanism can be used further as it gave good results.

Photo. 4 PPCP at VNIT, Hingna and Deolamethi

For the implementation of the present project it was Table 9 Grout Requirements
decided to use Sliding panel LTM as it requires less
quantity of grout making it more economical as compared
to Bottom LTM while retaining the quality. The details of
sliding panel jointing system is mentioned further in this
paper. A detailed FE Analysis was performed as shown in
Fig. 1, specifically to understand the behavior of LTM and
their efficiency was found to be 97%. It is essential that the
grout used to fill the dowel slots has the required properties
so that the traffic can be opened well within the time. The
grout used should comply with the properties mention in
the table below (Table 9). Polyester concrete grout consists
of polyester resin binder and dry aggregate. The polyester
resin binder must be an unsaturated is ophthalic polyester-
styrene copolymer. Polyester resin binder must comply
with the requirements shown in the Table 9.

Fig. 1 FE Analysis for LTM

INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022 19

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The panels are provided with sliding panel LTM as shown The panels are positioned in their final positions in terms of
in Photo 5. The panels are positioned in front of each other their line and levels and if there are any gaps beneath the
to ensure the alignment of the dowels and then the panel it is supported temporarily. Once the edges are sealed
dowelled side of one panel is slid into the dowel slot side of the gaps are filled with a suitable grout having the
the adjacent panel. properties mentioned previously. The grouting is
performed using grout ports provided on top of the panel
and the lifting ports are observed the flow of grout. To
ensure that the grout has completely filled the gaps present
beneath the panels, the grouting is performed from one
inlet grout port and the grout is allowed to overflow from
another grout port. Thus ensuring that the grout has
completely filled the gaps beneath the panels. For the grout
to fulfil this criteria, it is necessary that the spacing of the
grout ports is equal to or less than 60% of the flowability of
the grout used. For example, the grout used for this project
has a flowability upto 5 m considering the gap thickness as
10 mm max. Hence, the max grout port spacing required
will be 3 m. To be on a conservative side and to ensure that
the grout spreads uniformly, the maximum grout port
spacing provided was 2.45 m. There is no specific method
Photo 5 Load Transfer Mechanism to define the quantity of grout as the undulation beneath the
2.3 Base Preparation Method (BPM) panels may vary significantly. However, assuming the base
has been prepared accurately by a sensor paver, the gap
The panels should be placed on a perfectly level base as any beneath the panel may vary from 0mm to 15 mm. The
undulation in base can lead to serious stress concentration maximum quantity of grout that can be required beneath
in the panel which can lead to the cracking of the panel. The the panels is 15 kg/m2.
base should be prepared using Dry Lean Concrete and
spread and levelled using a sensor paver. In order to ensure 2.4 Lifting Arrangement
that the panel is placed perfectly and there are no gaps
beneath the panel, the base of the panel is further grouted One of the most critical aspect of PPCP is the lifting,
using a simple pressurized grout. The bed grout should handling, transportation and placing process. The panel is
comply with the properties listed below in Table 10. vulnerable to impact loads developed due to jerks during
these activities. Furthermore, at the time of demoulding of
Table 10 Underslab Grout Specifications panels and stacking, the strength of the concrete is around
Quality Test method Requirement 20 MPa and hence it needs very careful analysis for the
characteristic same. The flexural strength of concrete at this stage is
obtained by performing flexure beam test and was found to
Compressive ASTM C942 25 MPa
strength at 1 hr: be around 3.13 MPa. Upon performing an analysis (Fig. 2)
20 MPa
at 23°C considering the lifting and swinging of the panel the
at 7.3°C maximum stress developed in the panel was found to be 1.2
MPa and hence it could be lifted safely.
Compressive ASTM C942 760 MPa
strength at 7 days 600 MPa
at 23°C
at 7.3°C
Expansion (at 30 ASTM C940 0–3 %
min)
Bleeding (at 30 ASTM C940 0.1 %
min)
Efflux Time ASTM C939 15–30 sec

Note: for tests at 7.3°C, keep materials at 7.3°C for 24 hrs

before fabrication and store specimens at 7.3°C until testing Fig. 2 Panel Lifting Stress

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3. CONCLUSION
The construction and design of PPCP in Amravati project has
been deeply discussed and it provides an additional assurance
regarding the implementation of this technology. The PPCP
panels used in this project proves that the implementation of
PPCP technology can improve the quality of the pavement
considerably. Additionally, as the technology is developing in
our country and improving with every implementation, it can
be made more economical as compared to traditional concrete
pavement. The analysis described clearly shows that there can
be a considerable reduction in concrete thickness by the use of
PPCP. Instead of 280 mm thick Cast in Place Concrete
Pavement, a 200 mm thick PPCP can be done. The time of
construction can be reduced to 25% of that required for Cast
in Place concrete pavement thereby reducing traffic
congestions. This makes this technology most suitable for
construction in congested areas where it is impossible to keep
the roads closed for an extended period of time. As per the site
requirement, PPCP can also be constructed during night hours
and traffic can be allowed during day hours thereby giving us
a 100% hassle free construction with zero traffic closure.
Additionally, the life expectancy of PPCP is much higher as
the CFD considered is 0.00 which theoretically allows infinite
repetitions of the present traffic. Considering these
advantages, it can be said that PPCP Technology can provide
an excellent solution to durable and fast road construction and
has much further scope for improvement.
REFERENCES
1. Gopalaratnam, V. S., J. Donahue, B. Davis, and C.
Dailey. 2006. "Precast prestressed Panels for Rapid Full-
Depth Pavement Repairs." Page 155 Proceedings of the
Structures Congress and Exposition.
2. IRC:58-2015. "Guidelines for the Design of Plain
Jointed Rigid Pavements for Highways (4th Revision).",
New Delhi.
3. Smith, P., and M. B. Snyder. 2016. "Manual for Jointed
Precast Concrete Pavement." National Concrete
Pavement Association.
4. Syed, A., and R. Sonaprote. 2019. "Development and
Early age Performance of an innovative Prestressed
Precast Concrete Pavement." Journal of Construction
Engineering and Management 146(2):1–9.(ASCE).
5. Syed, A., and R. Sonparote. 2020. "A Review of Precast
Concrete Pavement Technology". Baltic Journal of Road
and Bridge Engineering 15(4):22–53.
6. Tayabji, S., D. Ye, and N. Buch. 2012. "Joint load
Transfer and Support Considerations for Jointed Precast
Concrete Pavements." Transportation Research Record
(2305):74–80.
INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022 21
 TECHNICAL PAPER

SPECIAL BEARINGS OF SIGNATURE BRIDGE AT

WAZIRABAD, DELHI

K P ABRAHAM1 SANJIB KONAR2

1. INTRODUCTION
The cable Stayed Bridge across river Yamuna at
Wazirabad, Delhi is a 575 m long bridge with main cable
stayed span of 251 m. In addition to the main span, it has
nine approach spans of 36m each out of which two spans
are in the eastern side and seven spans on the western
side. The General arrangement of the bridge is shown in
(Fig 1a & 1b).

Fig. 1(a) Elevation of the Bridge

The bridge consists of Dual carriageway of 14 m each with 35.6 m and at the pylon location the width is increased 45 m
a central verge of 1.2 m, maintenance walkways and space to accommodate the pylon. The plan layout of the bridge is
for cable stay anchorages. The total width of the Bridge is shown in Fig. 2.

1. Former Chief Engineer, Central Public Works Department, Email: abraham.314c@gmail.com

2 Former Technical Manger Gammon India Pvt. Ltd., Presently Head- Planning & Budgeting, GMR Infrastructure Limited

22 INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022

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Fig. 1(b) Perspective View of the Bridge

Fig. 2 Layout Plan

Cross section of the bridge at P1 location and at typical bearing location is shown in (Fig. 3a & b).

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Fig. 3(a) Cross Section at P1 Location

Fig. 3(b) Cross Section at Typical Bearing Location

The Bridge is an unsymmetrical cable stayed bridge with stay cables. The pylon is of Structural steel construction
stay cables in the front side of the Pylon and backstay cable while the deck is of composite construction with Concrete
on the rear side of the Pylon. The pylon is inclined and bow and Structural steel. The Pylon details are shown in Fig. 4.
shaped and is balanced between front stay cables and back

FRONT ELEVATION BACK ELEVATION SIDE ELEVATION

Fig. 4 Elevations of Pylon

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2. BEARING SYSTEM OF THE BRIDGE
The entire bridge is supported on 25 numbers of bearings.
Out of the total bearings, two are Guide bearings, one is
Pendulum rocker bearing and the rest are Spherical
bearings. The spherical bearings are provided over the
piers along Axis A (Upstream) & Axis B (Downstream) and
Fig. 5 Bearings Layout
3. SPECIAL BEARINGS
The Spherical bearings under pylon (Pier 19), Rocker
bearing (Pier 23), Guide bearings at P1 & P26 and Spherical
bearings at the pier locations take care of the large
displacement requirements of the bridge, both during
construction stage and service conditions, while transferring
the loads. The spherical bearing under pylon is required to
carry huge load transmitted from Pylon requiring large size,
making it the largest bearing ever installed. Though these
are fixed bearings in service conditions, provisions had to be
over piers supporting the Pylon, transmitting the vertical
downward loads. Guide bearings are provided at the ends
(P1 and 26 Locations) along axis C, to guide the
longitudinal movement of the bridge. Rocker bearing is
provided at the Axis C (Middle axis) at pier 23 location to
take the tensile for retransmitted from the back-stay cables.
The bearings lay out is shown in Fig. 5.
made for transverse movement and rotation during the
erection of the Pylon. The Rocker bearing at P 23 Location
transmits huge tensile loads while allowing for longitudinal
movement during erection and service conditions and
transverse rotations during service conditions. The guide
bearings at both the ends, guide the longitudinal movement
of the deck during construction as well as in the service
conditions. Spherical bearings at other pier locations are
required to undergo substantial longitudinal movements
both during construction and service stage. The movement
requirements of these spherical bearing are least for
INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022 25
 TECHNICAL PAPER

bearings near the pylon and maximum in the bearings

installed at the ends of the bridge i.e., at P1 and P26 locations
with the movement requirements of other spherical bearings
being proportional to their distance from the pylon.

These bearings necessitated special attention during

design, manufacturing and installation stages. The details
of these bearings are elaborated in this paper.

3.1 Spherical Bearings at Pylon Base

These bearings are installed on piers 19A and 19B,

supporting the two legs of the pylon. They allow free
rotation along the longitudinal axis while displacement is
restrained in both longitudinal and transverse directions
during service conditions. The transverse movement
during erection stage of Bearing at 19A is restrained fully
while it is allowed for 19B. Transverse and longitudinal
rotation is permitted in both the bearings during the
erection as well as the during the service stages. The details
of bearing at 19A are shown in (Fig. 6 a & b) and that of
19B in (Fig 7a & b).
Fig. 6(a) Plan view of Bearing at 19A
Fig 7(a) Plan view of Bearing at 19 B
Fig 7(b) Section view of Bearing at 19 B
The bearing at 19 A is fixed bearing while the bearing P19 B
is provided with additional sliding surface to take care of
the transverse movement during the process of installation
of the pylon. These bearings transfer a design load of
230850 KN (23085t) to the foundations and accordingly
very large in size. Loading details of P19 bearings are
shown in table below.
Vertical Longitudinal Transverse
ULS 230850 KN 6000 KN 23250 KN
The bearing at 19B allows for 40 mm movement in
transverse directions during construction stage. The
bearings are placed 20 m offset from the longitudinal
centre line of the pier to wards upstream side as shown in
the Fig. 8(a, b, & c). Pre-sets of 0.5 Milli radians were
given to both the bearings to take care of the base rotation
during the erection stage.

Fig. 6(b) Section view of Bearing at 19A Fig. 8(a) Offset of Bearing with Reference to Pier Axis

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the pier cap and the Level and orientation of the base pate
are checked and the pier cap with its shear lugs firmly
embedded in concrete. The base plate was required to be
erected with a maximum deviation in the horizontal plane
not exceeding 0.3%.

Fig. 8(b) Sectional Elevation Showing the

Offset of Bearing at 19 A Axis

Photo 1. Assembled bearing at the factory

Photo 2 Bearing Base Plate

Fig. 8(c) Plan Showing offset of Bearing at P 19 The Bearings are shifted from storage place to site just on the
day it is erected. The Bearings are lifted using crane of
The bearing as assembled in the factory is shown in suitable capacity. A centring frame is erected to the stiffeners
Photo 1. The bearings are very sensitive and are very provided on base plate to hold the bearing in position at the
large in size requiring cautious handling and proper time of placing the bearing over the base plate. The pre-
storing. The bearings are supplied in boxes and suitable settings of the bearing are checked after the bearing is placed
lifting devices with adequate capacity are used for over the machined surface of the adaptor plate.
loading and unloading. Special lifting points are
provided for lifting. The bearings are stored in a covered
area with proper ventilation to protect it from water, dust,
heat, moisture etc. The bearings are placed over wooden
sleepers so as not to come in contact with rain water or
moisture.
3.2 Installation procedure of bearing and pylon
base over the Bearing
Base plate over which the bearing is placed is150 mm thick
steel plate embedded in the pier cap and provided with an
adaptor plate, placed concentrically and welded over the
base plate at the fabrication shop itself. The base plate is
shown in Photo 2.The base plate is placed precisely over Photo 3 Placing of Bearing over the Base Plate

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After the placement of bearing, the Pylon base is held over
the bearing on Hydraulic Jacks and after verification of
alignment, jacks are lowered to rest on the bearing over the
base plate without any impact, movements or rotation on
the bearings during the fixation of pylon base to the
bearing. The jack arrangements for lowering the Pylon
base are shown in Fig. 9. Pylon base is aligned and
connected to the bearing using M36 bolts. These bolts are
torqued with 1400 Nm with hydraulic torque wrench.

Fig. 9 Lowering of Pylon Base with Hydraulic Jacks to rest over the Bearing

After lowering the pylon base to the bearing, the bottom pier head. The final seating of bearing and Pylon base is
plate of the bearing is welded to the base plate embedded in shown in Fig. 10.

Fig.10 Position of Bearing after the Pylon Base erection

3.2.1 Pendulum rocker bearing to transmit large anchored to the Deck in the rear side of the pylon,
tensile forces transferring large tensile forces to the deck. There are four
pairs of back stays. Pendulum Rocker bearings are
The Pylon is anchored and stabilised by the back stays provided to transfer these massive tensile forces from the

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deck to the foundation. One pair of pendulum bearing is
provided for each pair of back stay cable, totalling to four
pairs of pendulum bearings. The bearings are provided on
Axis C, at P 23 location. The details of the rocker bearings
are shown in (Fig. 11a & b).
These bearings have sensitive components with each
pendulum bearing weighing about 15t and accordingly,
cautious handling was required to maintain its functionality.
The loading and unloading of bearing were carried out by
specially designed lifting points.
The bearing was transported by ship from Germany partly
to fabrication shop in China and partly to India. All the
bearings are packed in a wooden box of required size.
During transportation and storage, the suspension rod was
required to be kept in lay position at one side with wooden
block support.

Fig.11 (a) Cross sectional view of Pendulum Bearing

Fig.11(b) Longitudinal Sectional view of Pendulum Bearings

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 TECHNICAL PAPER
The max load acting on the pendulum
bearing is mentioned below

3.2.2 Installation procedure

The Rocker bearing consists of 4 pairs of Pendulum
Bearings. The details of the individual pendulum bearing
are shown (Fig. 12 a & b).

Fig. 13(a) Elongation Effect of Deck

Fig. 13(b) Shortening Effect of Deck

Fig. 12(a) Individual Pendulum Bearing
The bearings are connected between the brackets above and
below. The lower brackets are anchored to the Anchor pier
using DSI bars. The upper bracket is fabricated along with
the deck at the fabrication shop as part of Deck structure. The
upper and lower brackets are shown in the (Fig. 14 a &b)

Fig. 12(b) Perspective view of Individual Fig. 14(a) Lower Anchor Bracket
Pendulum Bearing
Max force applied on any individual pendulum bearing and
the required rotation are indicated below.

The details of longitudinal movement and the

corresponding load development due to Deck shortening
/Deck elongation are shown in the (Fig. 13 a & b) Fig. 14(b) Upper Anchor bracket

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Radial Spherical bearings (INA bearings) are provided
both in the upper and lower bracket to allow for transverse
rotati.
on. The tolerance of INA bearings is quite tough and therefore
extreme care was taken while inserting it into the bracket hole,
to avoid any tilt.INA bearing was provided with protection oil
and cover to protect it from dust, dirt and moisture
The upper INA bearing is installed in the upper bracket at
the Steel fabrication shop. For this purpose, the bearing
manufacturer delivered the same from their factory in
Photo 4(a) Lifting of Lower part
The bottom brackets are anchored using DSI anchor bars
embedded in the Anchor pier. The DSI anchor bars are held
in position with the help of a template to keep the anchor bar
in true position while casting the Anchor pier. The lower
part of the bearing is placed over the anchor pier with the
anchor bars passing through the holes provided in the base
Fig. 15(a) Lifting of the Suspension Rod
Germany to the fabrication shop in China. Installation was
carried out under the supervision of Bearing
Manufacturers' Quality Manager to ensure that everything
is fitted properly. Necessary protective measures were
taken to prevent any damage while shipping, transportation
and storage. The lower pin connection of the pendulum
with the bottom bracket is done in the bearing
manufacturers shop. The lower anchor bracket along with
lower INA bearing and suspension rod is directly
transported from the factory to the site. Lower bracket with
suspension rod is shown in (Photo 4a & b).
Photo. 4(b) Lower part placed in position
plate of the lower bracket. After the erection of the Deck
above, the suspension rods of the bearing are lifted and
connected to the upper bracket as shown in (Fig. 15 a & b).
(Photos 5 a & b) shows the suspension rod connected to
both the brackets.
Fig. 15(b) Fixing of the Suspension Rod
INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022 31
 TECHNICAL PAPER

Photo 5(a) Photo 5(b)

Photo 5 (a & b) Suspension Rod Connected with the Upper and Lower Brackets
Lastly DSI anchor rods are prestressed and the gap between 3.3 Spherical Bearings with Large Longitudinal
pier top and the base plate are filled with cement grout Movements

These bearings allow large longitudinal movements of the

deck both during erection stage and service stage, in
addition to the rotations in the service stage. These
displacements are required due to shortening of the Deck
during stressing of cables in the construction stage and
large elongation/shortening of the deck due to temperature
variations during the service life. The max displacements
occur at P1& P26 Locations at either end of the bridge and
the details of the same is detailed below.

3.3.1 Loads and displacements

Details of these above mentioned bearings are shown in

Photo 7 Pre stressing the DSI Anchor Bars
Fig. 16 (a, b & c). provided with a longitudinal pre-set of 80
mm to take care of the shortening of the deck due the stressing
of the cables. The maximum longitudinal movement it can
accommodate during service stage is 270 mm.
3.4 Guide bearings to guide the longitudinal
Movement of the Deck
Sliding bearings are provided at both ends of the Deck i.e.,
at P1 & P26 locations on Axis C. These bearings guide the
longitudinal movement of the deck and resist the transverse
movements at both ends. Longitudinal movements of the
deck during the erection of the bridge and expansion or the
shortening of the deck due to temperature variations during
service life are guided by these bearings. The details of the
bearings are shown in Fig. 17(a, b & c)

32 INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022

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Fig. 16(a) Plan of Bearing at P1

Fig. 16(b) Longitudinal Section of Bearing at P1

Fig. 16(c) Cross Section of Bearing at P1

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 TECHNICAL PAPER

Fig. 17(a) Plan of Guide Bearing

Fig.17(b) Longitudinal Section of Guide Bearing

Fig. 17(c) Cross Section of Guide Bearing

34 INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022

 TECHNICAL PAPER

4. CONCLUSIONS ends of the bridge in the central axis to allow for

longitudinal movement of the deck both during
The entire Bridge is supported on bearings. The bearing
construction and service stage, while restraining the lateral
system of the bridge is carefully selected to take care of
movements. Spherical bearings with provision for
large compressive and tensile loads to be transferred to the
longitudinal displacements are provided at the pier
foundations and also to allow for large displacements and
locations, with largest displacement requirements at the
rotations both during the construction stage and service
end pier locations, to take care of the large longitudinal
stage. Special large size spherical bearings were provided
movements of the deck both during the construction and
for transfer massive load transferred from the pylon to the
service conditions.
foundation. These bearings are fixed bearing, allowing for
displacement sonly during the erection stage. Specially REFERENCES
designed Pendulum Rocker bearing was provided to
transfer large tensile loads transferred from back stay 1. Project Documents, Drawings and Photographs
anchorages to the foundations at the same time allowing for 2. Manufacturer's drawings of bearings
large movement and rotation during the erection and 3. EN Code: 1337 part 1-11
service conditions. Guided bearings were provided at both 4. Installation methodology from Maurer Sohne

INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022 35

 INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT OF KONKAN REGION IN MAHARASHTRA
THROUGH ROAD AND WATER TRANSPORTATION

DR. M. N. DEKATE1

ABSTRACT
National Highway (NH66) and Konkan Railway are the main mode of transportation in Konkan region in Raigad, Ratnagiri
and Sindhudurg district. However, the coastline is far away from these routes. This paper deals with coastal road connectivity
with waterways. Necessity of coastal road connectivity with waterways elaborated as an integrated plan which is essential for
transportation facilities along with National Highway and Konkan railway for development of route network in konkan
region.

The author has suggested phase wise connectivity to have a “web of route network” in near future. Waterways terminals
should be connected at least with two lane paved shoulders in the first phase. National Highway connectivity in the second
phase and konkan railway station connectivity in the third phase. This waterways with road connectivity would have a positive
impact on saving in distance and cluster tourism is possible in Konkan area. Ports and industries are also possible to connect
with waterways for international/national trading benefits.

Methodology adapted by the author to follow coastal highway by creating route of waterways to save traveling distance and
time. This coastal route will decrease traffic congestion on National Highway. Author has suggested the method of
development of Konkan through waterways connectivity along the coastline to National Highway and Konkan Railway.
Recommendation and conclusions are provided in the end to have several economic benefits to the State/Nation and especially
to the coastal population
1. INTRODUCTION

State of Maharashtra consists of the coastal districts of

Palghar, Thane, Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban, Raigad,
Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg. These are important regions
which connect Mumbai with the State of Goa. Konkan
Region, having 720 kms. coastline is helpful in attracting
tourists. Fig.1 shows the Beaches (Bordi Beach, Dahanu
Beach, Kihim Beach, Diveagar Beach, Shrivardhan Beach,
Harihareshwar Beach, Velas Beach, Harnai Murud Beach,
Guhagar Beach, Velneshwar Beach, Ganpatipule Beach,
Tarkarli Beach, Vengurla Beach, Shiroda Beach) and Fig.2
shows the Forts (Arnala Fort, Sion Fort, Hirakot Fort,
Kolaba Fort, Korlai Fort, Janjira Fort, Suvarnadurg Fort,
Jaigad Fort, Vijaydurg Fort, Sindhudurg Fort) along the
coastline. This paper deals with waterway connectivity
from Mumbai, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg Districts
as clustering of routes from Mumbai to Panaji by Coastal
Fig. 1 Location of Beaches Fig. 2 Location of Forts
Roads, National Highway and Konkan Railway. in Maharashtra
in Maharashtra
1 Former Secretary, Public Works Department, Maharashtra, Email:mmbce2018@gmail.com

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The Konkan Region mostly consists of hilly regions and
hence has very difficult terrain for construction of road and
rail network. Before independence, the Konkan region
was very popular for foreign commercial and trading
activities in the open sea along the coast. After
independence the focus of transportation shifted towards
roads, rail, air where as water transportation by sea was
neglected. The Central and State government have now
realised that transportation by sea for passenger and goods
is equally important. There are limitations to enhance
capacity of existing transportation facilities by land and to
develop new networks on land. Hence, sea route to be
developed along with the existing road network as an
integrated plan with other modes of transportation like
Railway.
2. EXISTING CONNECTIVITY OF RAIL AND
ROAD IN KONKAN REGION
2.1 Konkan Rail
Panvel to Madura (Maharashtra) Konkan rail distance is
381.181 km running from Panvel-Roha-Chiplun-
Ratnagiri-Kankavli-Sawantwadi-Madura passing through
Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhu durg District in Maharashtra
State. This railway route comprises 28 crossing stations, 5
halt stations. Construction of railway tracks involves a
total 1077 structures (93 major bridges, 759 minor minor,
56 ROB, 74 RUB, 27 FOB, 68 tunnels of total 63 km.
length, having the longest tunnel of 6.5 km.). This route
involves hillock cuttings at 353 locations of 125 km; curves
involved 129 nos. of 98.100 km and 30 manned level
crossings. This track is designed for 120 KMPH and falls
under heavy annual rainfall of 3500 to 4000 mm generally
from 10th June to 31st Oct. Construction period was 1991to
1998 and was opened to traffic in December, 1998.
Looking at the number of bridges and tunnels and the
construction period, we can understand the complexity of
work in the hilly terrain of Konkan Region.
2.2 National Highway
Mumbai to Goa (NH 66) is an age-old two lane National
Highway which is a very important link of transportation
between Maharashtra and south India. Due to increased
traffic, 4 lane widening was thought of by the Government
since about 20 years. Total length of the existing highway is
450.17 km in Maharashtra, passing through Raigad,
Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg District. Construction activity
of National Highway is divided into two packages.
i. Out of total 450.17 km length, construction of 84
km (0100 to 84100) from Panvel to Indapur stretch
is with National Highways Authority of India
(NHAI), GoI under NHDP Phase II on BOT basis.
Project comprises four laning of existing two lane
with 6 major bridges, 3 ROBs, one flyover, 24
minor bridges and 12 vehicle under passes, 15
pedestrian under passes, 134 box culverts, etc. This
project was initiated in the year 2012 and was
scheduled to be completed during June, 2014.
However, cumulative physical progress as on today
is only 87.85% and the expected date of completion
is March, 2022.
ii. Balance length of the highway is with the State
Government from Indapur to Zarap, Km 84/00 to
450/00 (366.00 km). The scope of work comprises
4 laning of existing two lane road alongwith 24
major bridges, 85 minor bridges, 77 underpasses
and 1.84 km long tunnel. This project was
initiated in 2013 and only 60% work is completed
and the tentative date of completion is December,
2022.
3. KONKAN RAILWAY AND NATIONAL
HIGHWAY - ISSUES
In construction of Konkan Railway, land acquisition was
the major issue before the start of construction and land
sliding at various locations in frequent intervals was the
serious issue during construction and operation. This
halted the project work many times and then took almost 8
years to complete the project with cost overrun. Slope
stability is still a problem and hence during operation,
stoppage of trains due to landslide was a common issue. At
present, about 70% work of slope cutting is completed but
normal operation of rail laying is even difficult during
monsoon.
Similar problems of land acquisition, removal of
encroachment, landslides, etc.are being faced in
constructing 4 lanes of National Highway. Due to these
issues, even after 8 years, 4 laning work is not completed.
The project got delayed due to various issues; delayed
handing over of encumbrance-free land, delay in shifting
of services and utilities, clearance for the eco-sensitive
Bird Sanctuary of Karnala (20 km length), diversion of
forest land and removal of encroachments, long monsoon
period, public demand for various additional facilities, etc.
The above problems can be easily avoided if we adopt
water transport as a primary mode of transport in Konkan
as natural water source is available as shown in Figure - 3
(Route Map) showing; (i) National Highway (NH 66), (ii)
Road and Waterway, (iii) Waterway in open sea. It is an
integrated plan of transportation for Konkan development
and Fig.4 (Route Map) showing; Konkan Railway route
along with waterways.
4. CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN ROAD,
NATIONAL HIGHWAY AND KONKAN RAIL
4.1 As shown in Route Map (Fig.3); coastline is
connected to NH by State Roads at various locations.
Distance from National Highway to waterway terminal
INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022 37
 TECHNICAL PAPER

are; (i) Vadkhal (23 km), (ii) Indapur (44.67 km), (iii) iv. Dabhol to Dhopave,
Mangaon (56.27 km), (iv) Lonere (49.80 km), (v) Tolphata v. Tavasal to Jaigadand
(54.89 km), (vi) Poladpur (43 km), (vii) Khed (28 km), vi. Dandewadi to Vijay durg are proposed waterways.
(viii) Chiplun (52 km), (ix) Nivali Phata (43.50 km), (x) These waterways need proper connectivity between a pair
Ratnagiri (42 km), (xi) Hatkhamba (46.5km), (xii) Rajapur of jetty to the State Highway standard and this coastal link
(30 km), (xiii) Kankavli (37 km), (xiv) Kasal (31.5 km), should be joined upto National Highway and Konkan
(xv) Kudal (21.5 km) and (xvi) Banda (35 km). Railway Stations for effective transportation.
As seen from above data, distance between waterway 5. I N T E G R AT E D P L A N N I N G F O R
terminal and National Highway varies from 12 km. to DEVELOPMENT OF KONKAN REGION
56.27 km. It shows that a long distance traversed to reach
the waterway terminal from National Highway. 5.1 Coastal Route Network

4.2 As shown in Route Map (Fig. 4); Konkan Railway Considering issue selaborated in Para 2 and 3 regarding
start from Mumbai, Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminal Konkan Railway and Four lane National Highway about
(CSMT) and passes through Raigad, Ratnagiri, and construction, operation and connectivity with coastal road;
Sindhudurg Districts. Distance from waterway terminal study of these routes has been carried out from Mumbai
and Konkan Railway Station is shown in the route (Maharashtra) to Panaji (Goa) upto border of Maharashtra
map.Main station on Konkan Railway are; (i) Mumbai with regard to existing routes and distance to facilitate
(CST), (ii) Roha, (iii) Mangaon, (iv) Khed, (v) Chiplun, transportation to the various places as an integrated cluster
(vi) Sangmeshwar, (vii) Ratnagiri, (viii) Rajapur, (ix) plan along the coast. Fig.3 depicts the (I) National
Kankavli, (x) Sindhudurg, (xi) Kudaland (xii) Highway, (II) Waterways connectivity with road and (III)
Sawantwadi. Distance between the waterway terminal and Waterway (Cruise).
Konkan Railway Station varies from 4.1 km to 75.8 km.
Waterway Distance from National Highway
4.3 In spite of several tourist places in the Konkan area,
tourists are reluctant to visit places in Konkan region due to
long journeys, inadequate width of interconnecting roads
from National Highway and Konkan Railway Stations,
poor condition of internal roads, needing more time to
reach the destination. Hence, tourists prefer to visit Goa
directly either by National Highway or Konkan Railway or
by Air.
4.4 Sagarmala (waterways) and Bharatmala (roads)
integrated planning for connectivity would be better for
coastline development. Government has approved and is
under implementation of Waterway projects like Mandwa,
Kashid, Veldur, Ambadave under Sagarmala. Highway
Projects are approved and are under implementation in
Konkan region under Bhartmala. The projects are;
i. Mangaon to Dighi Port of 54.75 km. (NH753 F);
ii. Indapur to Agardanda of 42.34 km (NH 548 A);
iii. Wakan– Pali– Khopoli connecting Mumbai-Pune
Highway and Mumbai-Goa Highway of 46.60 km
(NH 548 A).
Accordingly, a step is taken by the government to connect
waterways with good quality roads upto National Highway
and Konkan Railway Stations. This connectivity will be
useful to create good transportation facilities through “web
of route network”clusters in coastal are as.
4.5 Waterways under Operation at Various 1. National Highway (NH66)- 540 km
Locations are 2. Waterways with Road- 577.26 km
3 Waterway (Cruise) – 429 km
i. Ferry Wharf to Mandwa,
ii. Agardanda to Dighi,
iii. Bagmandla to Vesavi, Fig. 3 Route Map Shows

38 INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022

 TECHNICAL PAPER

Waterway Distance from Konkan Railway Station
1. Konkan Railway Route- 381.181 km
2. Waterways with Road - 577.26 km
3. Waterway (Cruise) – 429 km
Fig.4 Route Map Shows
5.2 From the above route map of road and waterway
(Fig.3 and 4), distances between destinations is
Tabulated as follows:
5.3 From the above Table, various routes joining.
(i) National Highway; (ii) Waterways with roads
(iii) Cruise Services through open sea described in
detail are as follows :
i. Mumbai to Goa (Panaji) National Highway (540
Km.). Commuters for tourism in the Konkan area
have to take a long distance to approach coastline
from National Highway (As shown in Fig. 3).
ii. Waterways and road connectivity (As shown in
Fig. 3) proposed is as follows.
(a) Mumbai (Ferry Wharf) to Mandwa Waterway
(17 km) is in operation and Mandwa to
Agardanda State Road connectivity (75.40 km)
is in existence. Road connectivity required
widening and improvement to the Four Lane
State Highway or one way two lane road upto
Alibag (District).
(b) Waterway from Agardanda to Dighi (3 km) is in
operation and Dighi to Bagmandla State Road
connectivity (41Km) is available,
(c) Waterway from Bagmandla to Vesavi (1km) is in
operation and Vesavi to Dabhol State Road
connectivity (99.80 Km) is in existence

Table 1 Road and Waterway Distance

Sr. Location From - To Road Distance Waterway Distance Total Distance of Road and
No. (KM) (KM) Waterway (Km) and present
status of Waterway
1 2 3 4 5
1 Mumbai (Ferry wharf) - Mandwa 113.00 17.00 Waterway (17.00) in operation
2 Mandwa–Agardanda 75.40 - 75.40
3 Agardanda - Dighi 65.00 3.00 Waterway (3.00) in operation
4 Dighi–Bagmandla 41.00 - 41.00
5 Bagmandla - Vesavi 89.00 1.00 Waterway (1.00) in operation
6 Vesavi–Dabhol 99.80 - 99.80
7 Dabhol - Dhopave 138.90 0.76 Waterway (0.76) in operation
8 Dhopave–Tavsal 45.00 - 45.00
9 Tavsal – Jaigad 78.00 2.50 Waterway (2.50) in operation
10 Jaigad–Dandewadi 107.80 - 107.80
11 Dandewadi - Vijaydurg 32.00 2.00 Waterway (2.00) Proposed
12 Vijaydurg–Redi (Maharashtra State Board) 134.50 - 134.50
13 Redi–Panaji 47.50 - 47.50
Total 1066.90 26.26 577.26

INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022 39

 TECHNICAL PAPER
(d) Waterway from Dabhol to Dhopave (0.76 km) is
in operation and Dhopave to Tavsal State Road
connectivity (45.00 Km) is available
(e) Waterway from Tavsal to Jaigad (2.5 km) is in
operation and Jaigad to Dandewadi Road
(107.80 km) connectivity is available.
(f) Waterways from Dandewadi to Vijaydurg (2 km.)
is proposed and from Vijaydurg to Redi (134.50
km) upto Maharashtra border, aroad is available to
reach Panaji Terminal.
(g) from Redi to Panji (47.50 km) road is available
to reach Panaji Terminal is ready for
embarcation and disembarkation.
Road connectivity between waterways is not upto the
standard, needs to be improved to the State Highway
standard at least minimum to two lane paved shoulder in
first phase and four lane in second phases. Waterway
terminal also needs to be improved for better facilities of
parking, waiting, rest places, wash rooms, etc.
As shown in Table 1; total length of the road without
considering waterways is 1066.90 Km. and if waterways
are considered, then the travelling distance is only 577.26
Km. Accordingly, the saving due to waterways is 489.64
km. as shown in Route Map (Fig. 3). This saving in
distance directly has benefits like saving in time and
vehicle operation cost.
Similarly road connectivity from Konkan railway station
to coastal road shown in Route map (Fig. 4) is required to
improve geometrical features with minimum two lane road
with paved shoulder to form a cluster of network.
iii. Waterway in the open sea is useful for cruising for
passengers from Mumbai to Goa (panaji). This
cruise from Ferry Wharf (Jetty) may take halt at
Mumbai, Mandwa, Kashid, Bhagavati Bunder,
Vengurla and last destination to panji (Goa). (As
shown in Fig. 3 & 4). This waterway in open sea
for cruise has a total distance of 429 Km. Presently,
only one Ferry at Mandwa (Raigad) terminal is
under operation, whereas at Kashid (Raigad)
workis in progress and at other terminals [Bhagvati
Bunder (Ratnagiri), Vengurla (Sindhudurg)] are
under various stages of approval. Through this
route, cluster tourism from Mandva, Kashid,
Bhagawati Bunder and Vengurla terminal would be
possible in the Konkan area.
iv. From Fig.3, it is evident that –
(a) Route III, is the shortest sea route (429 km) but only
for passengers & not Ro-Ro.
(b) Route I, National Highway, road route (540 km) but
still under construction for 4 lane and additional
journey by link road is essential to approach
40 INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022
beaches, forts and tourist places along coast line
which is additional distance.
(c) Route II, Waterways with road Route (577.26 km).
Road connectivity to Waterway will have
following advantages:-
i. Total coastal road distance is 1066.90 km and
waterway with road distance is 577.26 km. Due to
waterways distance of 26.26 km, road distance is
decreased by 463.38 km. (Table 1)
ii. Saving of road distance is directly related to saving
in time and saving in vehicle operation cost and
minimisation of air pollution.
iii. Waterway is helpful for comfort to vehicle,
passenger and driver (physical and mental) for
nature-friendly journey.
iv. Commuters can visit beaches, forts, tourist places
along the coastline directly. From National
Highway to reach such places, needs a drive
through National Highway and link route which is
additional distance.
v. Capacity enhancement in future to National
Highway, Railway with growth of traffic (4 lane or
more lanes); needs acquisition of extra land which
is very difficult, time consuming and costly but
such issues are not with Waterways.
Looking at above advantages, waterway with coastal road
will prove beneficial to the commuters.
6. LIMITATIONS TO ENHANCE THE
CAPACITY OF EXISTING HIGHWAY AND
ROAD.
i. Land width of existing road, rail is almost
exhausted and hence further widening of roads, rail
becomes very difficult within available land width
and hence widening of existing roads, railway
requires additional land acquisition. Due to
roadside farming, habitation, industries, tourist
places, plantations, etc. cost of land is very high
and affects project cost.Land acquisition is a time
consuming process, requires huge cost considering
latest land acquisition guidelines and also requires
more time for acquisition in the normal course.
ii. For two lane to four lane improvement additional
land is required for central median to provide light
cutter as per specification. This is difficult
especially in town / village portion.
iii. For structures like flyover, underpass, ROB, RUB,
grade separator, etc. additional land is required.
Besides, for providing service roads, approaches
and grade separators at certain places require extra
land at huge cost.
iv. Parking places, toilets, road side amenities, etc. at
various locations along roadside requires extra land
 TECHNICAL PAPER
which adds to financial burden on project cost and it
is almost impossible to provide at requisite
locations within city/town area due to land
problems.
v. Bypasses, service roads, under passes are required
at cities/town/villages to keep traffic flow smooth,
otherwise traffic jams become a regular
phenomenon.
vi. Existing roads are narrow in width with grown up
trees all along the length of roads. Cutting of such
trees for road widening/improvement is major loss
to the environment.
vii. Existing sewerage line, water supply line,
telephone cables, underground cables, etc. are the
major hindrance and challenges to shift as
additional land width is required to restore
toutilities and it requires huge cost which is an extra
financial burden over project cost. And shifting
causes public inconvenience and problems to
vehicular movements. All these activities need
proper permissionfrom concerned authorities.
viii. National and state highways are in fair condition
but most of the Major district roads, other district
roads and village roads are narrow and in poor
condition.
ix. Most of the approaches fall in areas of hilly, marshy,
non-accessible, mangroves, forest, etc. Such
connectivity is not up to the standards. People are
reluctant to use waterways due to such standard
approaches / roads.
x. Many bottlenecks such as roadside encroachment,
trees along roads, fishing activities, farming
activities, etc. affect the vehicular movement from
waterways to highways as development of roads
and waterways were not implemented as an
integrated plan.
7. USEFULLNESS OF WATERWAY
Length of coastal highway preferred is not financially
feasible due to requirement of longer bridge length. Hence
the second option is to construct bridges at the narrow width
of creek where minimum length of bridge would be adequate
and possible to costruct to minimise the cost of bridge.
To avoid both, longer bridges or longer road approach;
waterway connectivity would be the better option to
minimise the length of coastal highway.Waterways by
constructing jetties at both ends of creek along the coast
line will be possible.
The following schematic diagram given in Fig.5 depicts (i)
the bridge location and long approach road from Coastal
Highway to connect bridge. (ii) Waterway connectivity
(Pair of Jetty) to avoid deroute, long road, to save travelling
distance and to save construction of longer bridges to save
the cost of the project.
Fig. 5 Chematic Diagram Showing Bridge,
Approach, Waterway
8. ADVANTAGES OF WATER TRANSPORT
i. Coastline has more than 14 beaches, 10 forts, 15
different tourist places, etc. if they are connected
with a good road network with waterway terminals
then the tourism industry will boost in the Konkan
region. At present, good connectivity is lacking
and hence International/national tourists prefer
tofly directly to Goa from Mumbai or follow
National Highway or Konkan Railway without
entering into interior Konkan area. If the waterway
is connected with good roads along the coast by
joining to National Highway and Konkan Railway
Stations then tourists will prefer to visit various
places in Konkan areas.
ii. With the above improvements, Public transportation
(Buses), goods transportation, private cars to fetch
tourists will enhance.
iii. Once the coastal route will be developed the
adjoining roads will act as feeder network thus
giving boost to state road development.
iv. This pattern can be extended to the other states in
due course so that the whole country can get
benefitted.
v. Improvement of road and waterways boost
fisheries activities along the coastline.
vi. Local produce would be transported at market
places or any other places due to short routes
formed through waterways.
vii. Socio-economical activities are possible to enhance
due to good road connecting waterway
infrastructure.
viii. Local service station; market places, marine
educational institution, sports activities, etc. is
possible to develop at waterway terminals.
ix. Journey become nature friendly along the coast and
Public transportation facilities would be
economically developed along the coast.
x. Most of the accidents occur due to long road journey
as driver gets over stressed due to continuous
journey. Waterway journey would be helpful to
avoid continuous travelling and obviously
INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022 41
 TECHNICAL PAPER
overstressing of driver also minimise causing
reducing the accidents due to such break journey
through waterways. Rest to vehicle and driver is
possible (physical and mental) while waterway
journey and refresh for further road journey. Fatigue
due to continuous driving could be possible to
minimise using waterway transportation.
xi. Cluster tourism considering historical places, water
sports, beaches, etc. become possible as most of the
tourist places are in the vicinity of coastal area and
tourism industry will boost through proper road
and waterway connectivity.
xii. Accelerate growth in the economy, especially along
coast line leads to increase in efficiency and
productivity and also provides better services to the
public, tourist.
xiii. As there is considerable saving in distance and time
resulting into more number of commercial trips
would be possible.
xiv. The department of Marine infrastructure industry is
the basic industry, which leads to development of
other industrial service sectors for faster and
economical transportation.
xv. Many water transport projects are like alternative
routes, by-passes to towns and congested areas.
This mode of transportation normally available
along urban, semi urban or village areas. It helps to
decongest the populated areas as new alternative
route would be available and new areas would be
possible to develop along these routes.
xvi. The fishing communities will be benefited as
possibility to transport sea foods without delays
and as such they are relieved from losses on
account of perishing of such goods.
xvii. Development Port Led is possible through
construction/upgradations of (a) exclusive coastal
berths (Jetties) for loading and unloading coastal
cargo (b) berths/Jetties for passenger ferries in
Major/Non-Major Ports (c) construction of
platforms/jetties for hovercraft/seaplanes and (d)
construction of berths/jetties in National
Waterways and Islands (e) mechanization of costal
berths for Major-Ports and Non-Major Ports (f)
creation of navigation channels for operating
water transport, and (g) construction of break-water
for tranquillity to have safe berthing.
Waterfront development for cargo, passenger movement
can be enhanced with available waterfront along the coast.
9. RECOMMENDATIONS
i. Phase wise connectivity based on master plan
should be implemented as below:-
Phase 1 Jetty to Jetty connectivity;
Phase 2 Jetty connectivity with National Highways by
2 lane road with paved shoulder or 4 lane road;
Phase 3 Jetty connectivity with Konkan Railway Stations
by 2 lane road with paved shoulder or 4 lane road;
Phase 4 Jetty connectivity with ports, industries, forts,
beaches, & other tourist places by 2 lane road with
Paved shoulder or 4 lane road.
State/Central Government to take the above mentioned
42 INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022
connectivity project on priority and prepare a
comprehensive plan accordingly.
ii. The master plan should be based on Traffic count
survey, Traffic growth rate study, diverted traffic
flow towards waterwaysand feasibility study
(techno, social, financial).So that coastal
transportation will fetch considerable savings in
distance and time.
iii. Sagarmala (waterways) and Bharatmala (road
network) schemes should be integrated and
implemented as a part of master plan to accrue the
better advantages of waterways
iv. For disaster management and control, it will be
useful to provide these facilities to the affected
people in coastal areas.
v. Konkan region is having various major and minor
industries (JSW Steel, POSCO Steel, RCF,
VikramIspat, GAIL, ONGC, JNPT, JSW Energy
Ltd., Finolex, Ultratech Cement Power Plant,
MIDC, etc.), and major port (Jaigad, Dighi
Dharamtar, Rewas, Agardanda, Dabhol, Ratnagiri,
Palshet, Govalkot, Kelshi, Bankot, Harve,
Varawade, etc.) which require good connectivity
which can be made possible through phase wise
connectivity.
vi. Good connectivity with Ro-Pax jetty to reach
distinct places directly would help international
trade from waterways to land trading in Konkan
areas which will boost socio-economic
development.
vii. Apart from this connectivity, the facilities (Waiting
Room, Parking, Washroom ticket counters, food
plaza, space for sport/yoga/open gym/walking
track etc.) to be provided at the jetty location may
also be developed by Government.
10. CONCLUSION
Konkan Region, being a difficult terrain consisting mainly
of hilly region; construction/widening of roads/rail
network impose great challenge to the engineers. But due
to availability of natural coastline, water transportation
will be an easy option available for development of this
region through national/international activities. Same
shall be developed and the water routes shall be inter-
connected by good road network to form“web of routes
network”, to connect National Highway, Konkan Railway,
Industries, Port, Beaches, Tourist Places, Forts, etc. in
Konkan region to have integrated development through
water and road transportation.
REFERENCE
1. Report on National Highway (NH66)
2. Report on Konkan Railway
3. Road development plan of Public Work Department
4. Field Study of Waterway and Coastal roads
 PRACTICAL APPROACH FOR THE SAFETY IN CASTING AND
ERECTION OF I-GIRDERS

N. N. BANDHU1

ABSTRACT

Infrastructure is the basic need for development of any Country. Highways infrastructure is mother of all. No infrastructure
can be utilized effectively if highways are not up to the mark. Highways infrastructure comprises two part say Roads and
Bridges, supplementary to each other. Function of bridges are to provide uninterrupted ways for Water (CD), Roads (Flyover,
Underpass), Railways (ROB, RUB), Pipe lines, pedestrians (Foot over bridge/ Pedestrian underpass). As per site condition and
aesthetic requirement, there are several types of bridges. Bridges comprises different type of superstructure. I-girder is one of
the simplest and popular forms of super structure adopted for bridges. Unfortunately, now and then, I-girder toppling in a
particular project is in news. In the recent past, unfortunately incidence of toppling of I girders occurred at Ankapalli on NH 5
in Andhra Pradesh. Earlier also toppling of I-girders occurred at Rajkot (ROB), Ajmer (ROB), Varanasi, Siliguri, Hassan in
Karnataka and Kannur in Kerala which was painful incidence not only for the Engineers working on these sites but also for
the entire community of Site Engineers. This paper explains the burning issue of incidences in civil constructions and the
requisite precautionary measures to avoid the same and consequential loss of properties and life.

1. INTRODUCTION negligence and over confidence is the main causes of

I-girder is the most popular type of superstructure due to
easy construction with fast speed. Casting of I-girders
rather can be achieved in a faster manner by deployment of
multiple set of forms. I-girder can be used for both pre-cast
and cast-in- situ construction. It is also good for both single
unit and Segmental construction and for pre-tension and
post-tension construction both. Single unit I-girder is
however more common whereas segmental is not so
common unless site conditions so demand. Construction of
I-girder is generally better option for span range of 15 m to
30 m.
I-girder is simple and very fast in construction at the same
time it is very unstable during construction, especially after
stressing till the diaphragm between girders is cast. If a
single girder rests on POT & POT cum PTFE Bearings, its
stability rating is like Bike which needs proper support to
remain in position. Once diaphragm between girders is
cast, it becomes stable like four-wheeler.
incidence. Engineers working at site must remove the term
“chalatahai, hotahai, chalega” from their dictionary.
Simple precautions, arrangements and careful attention
can avoid this type of incidences. In this paper, both cast-
in-situ and pre-cast prestressed I-girder is being
considered. Based on experience, few guidelines are
suggested. If the same is followed properly, incidence of
failure of staging and toppling of girder can be avoided.
In case of Cast-in-situ I-girder, there are two possible type
of failure: - i) failure of staging and ii) toppling of girder.
However, in case of pre-cast prestressed girder, toppling is
the main problem during transportation and erection.
2. SAFETY PRECAUTIONS FOR STABILITY
OF STAGING (CAST-IN-SITU) FOR I-
GIRDERS
2.1. Stability of Staging

To avoid such incidences all concerned must take all Function of staging is to provide proper support to bottom
necessary precautionary measures. Mentality of shutter of beam/slab and safely transfer the load of shutters,

1 Ex-Head Civil Infra, Navi Mumbai Metro Rail Project, E-mail: nnbandhu@gmail.com

INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022 43

 TECHNICAL PAPER

green concrete, working machinaries/manpower and side vi. Towers, CC cribs, pipes, H-frames used for staging
support to vertical shutters. shall be truly vertical after erection. No bent, dent
members shall be used.
2.2. Anticipated Causes of Failure:
vii. Two towers/CC cribs shall be joined with at least
i. Settlement of staging foundations. four bolts. Care shall be taken for the negligence by
ii. Failure of bracings. labourer. This activity must be icluded in checklist.
iii. Failure of vertical members. (Photo 2, Bolts missed at CC crib joints)
iv. Failure of Beam/Joists
v. Missing/Failure of connection of vertical
members.
vi. Unauthorized removal of support, bracing, packing
etc.
2.3. Precautionary Measures

i. Design of entire support system shall be proper and

with adequate factor of safety. In case of
prestressed girder, special care shall be taken for
the staging support near bearing as during
stressing, hogging in girder is obvious due to which
mid supports become ineffective and major portion
of girder's load may be transferred through the
supports near bearings.
ii. Foundation of staging shall be on firm and well
compacted ground to avoid any settlement causes
failure.In no case, staging shall rest directly on soil.
Photo 2 Connection Bolt Missing
Special care shall be taken if support location
comes over drain, manhole cover etc. viii. Bracing shall provided as per design in horizontal
iii. As per available SBC of ground, adequate size of anddiagonal in both direction with MS pipes.
foundation/pedestal (one piece) would help to Bracing pipe shall be clamped only (Photo 3). In no
disperse the design load over large area & avoid case, bracing shall be tied with binding wire.
settlement. Multiple pieces of precast blacks shall
not be used for one CC crib.
iv. A thin layer of PCC shall be laid around the
pedestal to avoid any mud formation durning
curing period resulting in settlement of staging.
v. During casting of CC Crib's pedestal, dowel /
anchor bolt shall be embeded for the connection of
towers, CC cribs with pedestal for better stability of
staging. (Photo 1)

Photo 1 Photo 3 Bracing and Clamping System of Staging

44 INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022

 TECHNICAL PAPER
ix. Width of wooden packing over tower to support
joist/beam shall be more than their height. Wooden
packing shall be tied with support system to avoid
slippage of packing during pouring and vibration
of concrete.
x. Extended Height of adjustable screw (in case of
pipe/H-frame statging) shall be less than the length
embeded in side pipe.
xi. One additional line of staging shall be erected on
either side of outer girder to provide rigid base for
side supports of I-girders for cast-in-situ condition.
Side support of I-girder shall not rest on extended
cantilever portion of Channel/Joist.
xii. RFI (Request for Inspection) system shall be
enforced for removal of support to avoid any
unauthorised removal of support/packing etc. Most
of the incidences occure due to unahtorised
removal of support/packing etc.
3. PREVENTION AGAINST LATERAL SHIFTING
AND/OR TOPPLING OF I- GIRDERS DURING/
AFTER STRESSING/ERECTION
3.1. Anticipated causes of failure:
i. Inadequate side supports and its failure.
ii. In-adequate wooden packing on either side of
bearing.
iii. Immediate casting of diaphragm is not given
priority.
iv. Sequence of girder tackled.
v. Bearing not placedin correct position and /or
horizontaly.
vi. Removal/restoration of bearing lock during/after
stressing.
vii. Unauthorized removal of side support.
viii. Application of un-wanted External force.
ix. Side shifting of girder on Free and Transverse
guided bearing.
3.2. Precautionary Measures
i. Toppling of I-Girders occur generally during and
after stressing if adequate safety measure in not
adopted. If girders sit on bearings, chances of
Engineers working at site think, after stressing and
fixing of bearings, girder becomes stable. But in
fact, after stressing, I-girder becomes even more
unstabe like two wheeler. Once the cross
diaphragms connecting the main girders are castto
behaves like four wheeler. Atleast diapgragm at one
end shall be cast immediately.
ii. Every span has one fixed bearing (in case of POT
cum PTFE bearing). First of all, girder having fixed
bearing shall be taken up for concreting/erection
etc. Due to pin action of fixed bearing at one end and
longitudinal guided bearing at another end, chances
of lateral and/or longitudinal shifting of girder is
zero.All safety features including side support and
base support packing shall be fixed on first girder
before taking up second girder.
iii. Now a days POT and POT cum PTFE bearings are
very popular. Elastomer pad used allows unequal
settlement due to a little amount of eccentric load,
may be the main reason of toppling of I-girders.As
lateral dimension of elatsomer pad used in POT
cum PTFE bearing is hardly one-third of girder
width. During erection stage, it is suggested to
increase support width by using wooden packing
on either side of bearing.(Photo 4)
Photo 4
iv. Due to hogging in girder after stressing, girder rests
almost on bearings. Before stressing starts, wooden
packing besides bearing must be provided and
adjusted after stressing of every cable for safe
movement of girder in required direction due to
shortening.
v. Packing and side supports must be checked after
stressing of each cable. Due to hogging action side
supports near mid span will get loosemust be
tightened/adjusted.
vi. Due to load transfer on bearings, elastomeric pad
settles, side supports near bearings shall get
tightened must be adjusted equally both side of
girder after stressing of every cable. Side support
on either side mush have equally tightend
otherwise girder may topple towards loose side due
to sitting of elastomer. Wooden packing besides
bearings must be adjusted after stressing of each
cable of any girder.
vii. After stressing of all cable of a particular girder, all
wooden packing besides bearing must be tight
fixed and should not be disturbed before the cross
girder (diaphragm) is cast.
viii. Friction in POT cum PTFE bearing is neglegible.
INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022 45
 TECHNICAL PAPER
More care shall be taken in case of transverse
guided and free float bearings in which there is
maximum chance for lateral shifting of Girders
with an application of even little amount of
horizontal force due to any reason.
ix. Just before stressing, lock of longitudinal guided
and free float bearings must be opened to allow
movement of top plate of bearing due to shortening
of girder. After stressing, lock of bearing shall be
restored. Lock shall be removed after casting of
diaphragm.
x. Care shall be taken for lateral movement of girder.
One stopper (Photo 5) made of channel/joist in the
shape of bracket shall be fixed with pier/abutment
cap on either side of Girder to stop the lateral
movement of girder resting on transverse guided
and free bearings.
xiii.
Photo 5
xi. Vertical member of bracket should just touch the
face of the girder. Some lubricant shall be provided
on the face of bracket to allow rotation due to
hogging and longitudinal movement of girder due
to shortening during stressing of girder.
xii. So far toppling is concern outer girder is more
unsafe than inner girder.In case of outer girders,
side support shall be as shown in (Photo 6 & 7)
xiv.
xv.
4.
4.1.
Photo 6
46 INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022
Photo 7
Once stressing of two girders is completed, cross
diaphragm connecting two main girders shall be
cast on priority basis.It is seen that the tendency of
agency is to erect all girders in one go the take up
the diaphragm work. Several agency cast the
diaphragm along with deck slab to reduce the
number of pour. Off course, casting of individual
diaphragm is time taking and costlier due to idle
charges of cranehowever, its cheeper than the loss
due to accident. (Below mentioned incidence of
toppling was due to neither diaphragm was cast nor
it was suppoted adequately). Method statement
shall explain the activities like (a) erection of first
girder having fixed bearing (b) Casting of
diaphragm connecting erected two girders. (c)
Erection of third girder (d) Casting of diaphragm
connecting outer of two erected girder and third
one. Same sequence shall be followed up to last
girder.No further girder erection shall be allowed
without casting of diaphragm connecting earlier
erected girders.
After casting of all cross girders (diaphragm), once
concrete diaphragm of diaphragms achieves
strength, side supports, bracket stoppers and
wooden packing besides bearings shall be removed
gently. Lock of Bearings (if any) has to be
removedany othe super imposed load and live load.
Unauthorized removal of support/packing is one of
the major causes of incidence. All workers at site
shall be cautioned, not to remove any support or
packing without permission of site incharge.
FEW INCIDENCES OCCURRED IN PAST
Toppling of 42 m Long Cast-in-Situ I-Girder
Overrunning Railway Track at Rajkot (2007)
 TECHNICAL PAPER

(Photo 8 & 9) shows there was no proper side support

arrangement of I-Girder, which was the probable cause of
toppling. No additional staging is seen for side support.
Overhang portion of channels might be used to support the
girder. (Photo 10) shows lack of supervision as few boltsin
transverse guided bearing are missing and lugs surface of
bearing is not matching uniformly with the soffit of Girder.
(Photo 11) shows lateral shifting ofone end of another
adjacent girder.

4.2. Toppling of 2 Precast I-Girders with Span

Length 33 m on Running Railway Track
Photo 8 During Erection, Ajmer (2013)

Photo 9 Photo 12

Photo 10 Photo 13

Photo 11 Photo 14 Third Girder Lowered Down after Toppling of Two Girders
INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022 47
 TECHNICAL PAPER

4.4. Toppling of I-girders of ROB/Flyover at

Hassan, Karnataka(March 2020)

Photo 15
(Photo 12) shows erection process of I-Girder and (Photo-
13) shows two Girders toppled down on Railway track.
(Photo 14 &15) show that top plate of bearing (third
girder) is not horizontal andis not touching the soffit of I- Photo 17 Shows Erected Girders Toppled at Hassan,
girder for its entire area. A gap of about 20 mm is visible Karnataka (March 2021)
between top plate (left side of bearing, (Photo 14) of 4.5 Failure of Support and Toppling of I-girders
bearing and soffit of I-Girder. After erection of first 2
Kannur, Kerala (Aug 2020)
Girders, it may not be supported adequately to ensure
stability and diaphragm was not cast. During erection of 3rd
Girder, it was hanged with crane and before placing in
position, flange bar of 3rd Girder was connected to 2nd and 1st
Girder with one re-bar. During placing the Girder in
position, third Girder got tilted towards 4th side as top plate
of bearing was not horizontal due to miss alignment of
sleeves embedded in Girder (Photo 14 & 15). Since earlier
erected two Girders were connected with 3rd one, second
and first Girders were pulled by 3rdGirder while started
tiltingand finally toppled, broken and fallen on railway
track.Third Girder was hanged with crane so it did not
toppleand after incidence it was lowered down and shifted
to casting yard.
4.3. Toppling of three Girders of flyover at
Phansidewa, Siliguri (Aug 2018)
Photo 18 Shows Toppling of Girders Due to
Lack of Supports.
5. CONCLUSION

Production of girder is a fruit by combined efforts and

Photo 16 Shows all three Erected Girders Toppled
may be Due to Inadequate Side Support and in
Absence of Diaphragm
achieved with the use of Fine Aggregates, Coarse
Aggregates, Cement, Micro Silica, Fly ash, Plasticizer,
Water, Reinforcement, Shuttering, Staging, Plants &
Equipment and Manpower. Number of agencies,
manufacturer, manpower, equipmentis involved directly or
indirectly for the production of ingredients/components of
girders. Properties and life both are precious. Due to
negligence of someone, if incidence occurs, efforts of
direct or indirect agencies, manpower, plants and
equipment got wasted. All concerns must remember, any
incidence causes is a national loss. Therefore, we have to be
more careful while casting and/or erection of I-girders.

48 INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022

MoRTH Circular

INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022 49

50 INDIAN HIGHWAYS JANUARY 2022
 Delhi Postal Registration No DL-SW-17/4194/2022-2024
UNDER ‘U’ NUMBER U(SW)-12/2019-2021
At Lodi Road, PSO on dated 28-29.12.2021 LICENCE TO POST
ISSN 0376-7256 Newspaper Regd. No. 25597/73 WITHOUT PREPAYMENT
PUBLISHED ON 23 DECEMBER, 2021
INDIAN HIGHWAYS
ADVANCE MONTH, JANUARY 2022
` 20/-

Edited and Published by Shri Sanjay Kumar Nirmal, Secretary General, Indian Roads Congress, IRC HQ, Sector-6, R.K. Puram,
Kama Koti Marg, New Delhi - 1100 022. Printed by Shri Sanjay Kumar Nirmal on behalf of the Indian Roads Congress
at M/s. B. M. Offset Printers, Noida (UP).