Geotechnical survey of Gurugram Metro on track

Ground work on the Gurugram Metro extension project began on March 20, when the first borehole was dug near the Millennium City Metro station

Work on the Gurugram Metro rail has picked up pace as the contractor responsible for the project’s geotechnical survey has dug seven boreholes on the road going from the Millennium City Metro station to Subash Chowk, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The boreholes are being dug to take rock and earth samples to assess the suitability of the land for the project. According to the contractor, 130 boreholes will be dug on a 13km route of the Metro from the Millennium City Metro station to the proposed Sector 9 station for which the contract has been awarded. A project official said they will complete the project of digging boreholes, testing, and submitting the reports in the next four months.

An official of the project contractor executing the geotechnical survey on Monday said they are digging one borehole every 100 metres along the proposed route. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

Ground work on the Gurugram Metro extension project began on March 20, when the first borehole was dug near the Millennium City Metro station. The 29km Gurugram Metro rail will have 27 elevated Metro stations and a spur from Basai to the Dwarka Expressway. The cost of the Metro project is estimated at ₹5,450 crore.

The length of the Metro corridor from Huda City Centre to Cyber Hub, while passing through Subash Chowk, Hero Honda Chowk, and Palam Vihar, will be 26.65 km, while the spur from Basai village to the Dwarka Expressway will be 1.85 km long.

The Gurugram Metro project is being executed by the Gurugram Metro Rail Ltd (GMRL), a joint venture special purpose vehicle jointly owned by the state and central government. GMRL held its first board meeting on March 20.

An official of the project contractor executing the geotechnical survey on Monday said they are digging one borehole every 100 metres along the proposed route. “We will conduct the geotechnical survey on the first 13 kilometres of the route. It takes two days to drill a bore up to 30 metres. The samples are taken using steel tubes when the borehole dries up. We have dug seven boreholes till now and the work has started to pick up pace,” the official said, adding that efforts are also being made to ensure that movement of vehicles on the road is not impacted due to their work.

According to the mandate given by HMRTC (Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation), the geotechnical consultant will provide a complete description of the soil and rocks along with the test result for every kilometre of the stretch.

Under the geotechnical survey, the consultant will conduct standard penetration tests, collect soil samples, and record the water table. “The consultant will prepare a report summarising details of soil, rock classifications, analysis of test data and recommend the type of foundations to be adopted and design calculations for the proposed elevated corridor duly highlighting the design criteria, design methodology and different groups of soil strata encountered,” the tender awarded by HMRTC said.

A GMRL official on March 20 had said that the geotechnical survey marked the start of work on the Metro project. “This work will be completed in the next four months. We will also hire a detailed design consultant soon for which a tender will be floated within a month,” he said.