New technology reduces bridge construction cost

KATHMANDU, May 19:

A new technology in bridge construction adopted this year has brought several benefits including reduction in project cost, according to officials.

The ´Prestressed Post Pillar´ technology uses cables that is pulled and tightened while fixing blocks of the floor of the bridge, making the structure more strong. It also reduces the number of pillar required to support the bridge structure, leading to drop in project cost.

The distance between the two pillars in the new technology can be increased to 40 meters from 20 meters using old technology.

Umesh Jha, chief of the Bridge Project at Department of Roads (DoR), said they were preparing to award contract for around three dozen bridges featuring new technology within this fiscal year.

The project has already implemented the new technology in Kothiyaghat bridge over Karnali River and Sitka bridge over Sunkoshi River as well as in Bagmati and Kamala bridges.

Jha claimed that the adoption of new technology will save around Rs 200 million in this fiscal year alone. “Though the technology was introduced in the 1970s and 1980s in projects implemented under foreign grants, no one was ready to take the risk in projects being implemented by mobilizing internal resources. But we took the risk and it is paying dividends,” added Jha.

The technology was used to different build bridges along the East-West Highway and Siddhartha Highway.

Officials say there is no need to use steel plates while constructing bridges using the new technology. Concrete blocks are used instead of steel plates.

Umeshananda Mishra, chief of Postal Roads Project, said bridges built using new technology don´t disturb waterways, opening the possibility of operating water transportation in the future. He claimed the adoption of new technology has reduced construction cost by around 15 percent.

Though the technology was widely used in foreign countries, Nepal is adopting it after half century.

Source: Republica