Cracks in 3-yr-old flyover at east Delhi’s Ghazipur

Less than three years after it was opened for use, cracks have begun to appear in the flyover at Ghazipur that links Delhi with Ghaziabad.

Less than three years after it was opened for use, cracks have begun to appear in the flyover at Ghazipur that links Delhi with Ghaziabad.

The public works department (PWD), which built the flyover — a “level three grade separator” at the crossing of National Highway 24 and Road No. 56 at Ghazipur — before the Commonwealth Games in 2010, described the cracks as “minor” that can be repaired easily.

“We have seen the cracks and got them examined by the experts of the construction company. We have chalked out a programme to repair the cracks, which will start in a few days,” a senior PWD engineer, who did not wish to be named, said.

“We will ensure that traffic on the flyover is not affected during the repair,” he added.

Deepak Panwar, chief engineer, PWD, who was the manager of the project, said the cracks were not structural.

“We identified the cracks during one of our periodical checks of the flyover. These are simply surface cracks and can be repaired through chemical injections. The repairs should be completed in 10-12 days,” he said.

The 800m-long flyover, on which over one lakh vehicles pass everyday on either carriageway, could collapse in the near future if proper engineering measures were not taken to repair the cracks, claimed SK Maheswari, a social activist and general secretary, RWA Federation, Ghaziabad.

“The flyover is in danger. The depth of cracks will increase eventually because of air pressure and moisture. Poor construction methods and workmanship are reasons for such major cracks,” Maheswari said.

He said that during construction, senior PWD officers who were supposed to supervise the project hardly did their jobs and pressed inexperienced junior officers to supervise.

The construction of the flyover was completed a day before the deadline of June 30, 2010. Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit had inaugurated the flyover on July 22, 2010.