Hyderabad: Three fires in less than two years in Punjagutta Flyover arteries have caused questions about their safety.
While officials stated that there was no structural damage and it was safe, civil engineers were taken by TOI to check the distribution of 2.1 km said that the delay overall inspection could have disaster consequences.
Flyover scaffolding has collapsed while being built in September 2007.
Fortunately, a large tragedy was avoided and only one person died at that time and several others were injured because there were several vehicles below.
On Tuesday, when Tii visited Flyover with civil engineers, they found damage to fire in three different places.
Visual assessment by two different engineers shows the concrete expulsion of the surface layer in the places of heat, damage to rubber pads between deck and dock slabs, and smoke damage.
Among the few fires under the flyover, the largest occurred in March this year the official was associated with a short circuit in the lights placed near the vertical park on the dock.
Two other fires occur near Punjagutta Cross-Junction.
Flyovers are always busy connecting major areas such as Begumpet, Banjara Hills, Punjagutta, Somajiguda and also lead to the office of the Minister of Chief Pragati Bhavan, which is located about 500 meters from the last fire place to occur.
Also, some of the main shopping outlets are located around the area.
A survey by the Indian Street Safety Federation in 2016 has said that nearly 2 Lakh vehicles ride Punjagutta Flyover and the road below every hour.
Showing one bearing bearing on the dock opposite the Y2K restaurant, SP Anchuri, Vice President (South), the World Structural Engineer Congress, said the main role of these bearings made of rubber industry will distribute loading vehicles, absorb vibrations and maintain stability Structurally.
But the black soot around it shows that bearing pads in some places have been exposed to intense heat that can melt rubber material.
Every damage to bearing bearings can endanger the structural integrity of the bridge.
“” Authorities attach or wrap the pier with vertical gardens and fiber murals Which indirectly turns into causes of damage.
Aesthetics must be a combination of beauty and function without risking life, “Anchuri added.
Other civil engineers Raghunandhan Singh, who also examined the flyover on Tuesday, said, “When concrete is exposed to the fire, it can experience mechanical and chemical changes including peeling some cement from the surface of the slab.
The expression of the concrete of the surface layer is clearly visible here (at Pier opposite to Kalyan jewelry and Y2K restaurant).
We must assess external cracks to find out whether it is due to thermal expansion and concrete dehydration.
“Singh also said that to avoid further damage, the authority must make an external surface with modified mortar repairs and, which Most importantly, check whether bearing bearings have been affected.
“The fire in March was so big that the area had to be folded.
I did not see any official who came to check the damage after the incident,” said Mohammad Afzal, a security guard working at a jewelry shop near the place.
However, the GHMC (maintenance) chief engineers, Devanand, said that there was no need for improvement.
“The outer layer might turn black because of the smoke caused by fire but there is no structural damage.
We only need to paint it.” Prof.
R Pradeep Kumar, Head of the Research Center for earthquake technicians at IIIT-Hyderabad, “to protect the flyover from the fire , structural engineers must learn the level of damage and then take, repair, and retrofit.
While repairs are needed to remove the soot or damage to smoke, retrofit is carried out by a competent structural engineer who can test the fire exposed area, identify damage and tell exactly what The repair work needed there.
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