Kochi: A team led by renowned engineer E Sreedharan carried out an inspection of the Palarivattom flyover before the government takes a decision on its future.
On Monday morning, Sreedharan and the team visited the flyover that has developed large cracks and potholes less than three years of its commissioning due to shoddy construction.
The lapses during the construction of the flyover and its condition after the repair works were inspected by the team. After assessing the findings, a report will be submitted to the chief minister. Based on this report, the state government will take a final call on whether the flyover needs to be rebuilt.
Every nook and cranny of the flyover was inspected by the team. They started from below. During a break, Sreedharan was seen seated on a chair speaking to the engineers. He gathered information regarding the structure, construction, technology used and other details from PWD engineers who were accompanying him. Questions were also raised about how much the flyover can be fortified through repair works.
The inspection that started at 8 am continued for over one-and-a-half hours.
However, Sreedharan refused to talk to the media regarding the condition of the flyover or the report that he is going to submit to the CM. He left the site saying, "There is nothing to say."
The team included Sreedharan's former colleague and concrete expert at Kanpur IIT Dr Mahesh Tandon, and P Alagu Sundaramurthy from the IIT Chennai. The report regarding the repair works on the flyover was prepared by Alagu Sundaramurthy, who is the professor of the structural engineering department at IIT Chennai. After the inspection, the team also studied the project plan of the flyover.