With the Metro set to roll in at Pragati Maidan shortly, Delhiites now have one more reason to look forward to the annual India International Trade Fair this November.
"Construction work on the Barakhamba Road-Indraprastha stretch of Metro, which started in February this year, is targeted to be over by October 2. However, the section will be opened for the public by November 10," DMRC Chief PRO Anuj Dayal said on Wednesday.
To match international standards, a special extradosed bridge has been designed by French consultant company Systra to connect the stretch, he said.
"Construction of the bridge was very complicated as it had to be built over five lines of Indian Railways from where about 200 important trains pass everyday," Dayal said.
Considering the daily load of rail traffic below the bridge, the structure had to be strong but no extra piers could be put on the 93-metre-long main span over the railway crossing.
According to Chief Project Manager, SK Gupta, the decision to build an extradosed bridge was taken after considering the functional requirement of the bridge and future needs of the Railways.
"The life of the 196.3 m long bridge is said to be around 120 years. Built by continuously joining segments, this is the second bridge of its kind built over a railway crossing in the world and has been constructed at the cost of Rs 6.5 crores," he said.