CMRL’s pillars above Kathipara flyover will be completed soon

The Chennai Metro Rail’s Phase II construction work over the Kathipara clover flyover is progressing quickly and will be completed in four months.

This section of Metro Rail’s Corridor 5 – Madhavaram to Sholinganallur via Alandur – has the highest pillar and sharpest bend in the entire Phase II network, officials of the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) said.

The CMRL is constructing six pillars at the Kathipara flyover junction.

In a few years, commuters using this corridor will have access to two stations around this intersection: Butt Road and Alandur (both Phase I and Phase II networks are integrated at this location).

30 meter high pillar

“The construction of the second highest pillar has been completed. While the highest pillar, which is 38 meters high, will be ready by November, the remaining four will be completed by February end,” an official said.

The CMRL started construction at the intersection after approval from the Railway Safety Commissioner as it is being built above the operational Phase I network.

New problem

During the construction of these pillars last month, officials encountered a new problem. “Since a power line and the overhead electrical equipment of the phase I network were close to the upcoming pillars, electrical induction issues started to arise. This happens when metal structures, such as construction equipment, are in close proximity to a power line,” an official said.

“We planned the construction in such a way that problems with electric induction were avoided. But when we started working on the spans close to the Corridor 1 line, the parameters exceeded the permissible limits, and as soon as we saw the signs of electric induction, we stopped the work,” he said.

‘Form Traveler’

Officials said they had immediately approached the retired Chief Electrical Inspector of the state government to supervise the work. Based on his advice, the construction equipment ‘Form Traveller’, used for the construction of the balanced cantilever section, was insulated.

“Form Traveler is a movable frame that helps in building large spans. The overhead equipment is switched off every day once the metro services of the Phase I network stop operating and the construction of the pillars begins. We have only four hours at night to build them, and hence it is proving to be a time-consuming process. The Corridor 5 line over Kathipara Flyover will be completed by the end of February,” said an official.