Pipe-laying under railway tracks completed

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It was dubbed a never-attainable task. But, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-aided water supply project has crossed a crucial phase having completed the pipeline-laying work under the railway tracks at Thampanoor. The work under 11 railway tracks got over a couple of days back, according to officials with Larsen and Toubro, the contractor.  Now 20 m more remain in the Railway Compound before the pipeline reaches near the RMS and is taken to the other side of the road. A total distance of 96 m is being covered during the work. Of this total distance, 56 m has been covered.  It would take some 20-25 days for the work to get completed, said an L&T official. “The  work under railway tracks was a crucial part of the project and thanks to the cooperation of the Railways and the efforts of L&T , it has now got over,” said KWA MD Asok Kumar Singh.The completion of the work attains much significance against the backdrop of the fact that it has been pending for a long time. The Railways had opposed the work, citing security reasons. However, following repeated meetings and discussions initiated by the Kerala Water Authority MD and after reworking the drawings, the work was given the go-ahead by the Railways. The pipe-laying was done using the trenchless technology, which meant pushing the pipes through the earth using jacks. For this, an open trench was made near the Kripa Theatre, from where the pipelines were pushed under the tracks. The work had officially commenced after September 14.The open trench had a depth of 5.5-6 m. First, a retaining wall was constructed to withstand the frictional force produced while the pipes are pushed. Then, the basement of the trench was strengthened using concrete layers. Beams were fixed for the pipes to be placed on them. The casing pipes - Mild Steel pipes of 1,200 mm diameter, 2.5 m length and 20 mm thickness - were laid under the tracks first. Potable water pipes, ie 800 mm Mild Steel pipes of 8.8 mm thickness, were then laid inside them. The pipes are laid some 2.5 m under the tracks. Nearly 30 labourers, including hands from Tamil Nadu and Orissa, had worked at the site. Six hydraulic jacks, each with a capacity of 200 tonnes, were used for pushing the pipes. In a single push, nearly 300 mm went inside.