Revised design clears hurdle for Pavangad ROB approach road

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RBDCK explored an alternative to avoid shifting the 110-kV cable. Under the revised design, the number of piles will be increased at locations where the high-voltage cable passes beneath the proposed approach road | Photo Credit: The Hindu

The construction of the approach road to the Pavangad–Puthiyappa railway overbridge (Pavangad ROB) is set to resume after the Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala (RBDCK) approved a revised design to overcome the hurdle posed by underground power cables.

The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) had served a notice to the Public Works Department (PWD) directing it to stop piling work after 110-kV and 11-kV underground power cables were found passing through the site where the approach road was being constructed. The cables were detected during trial piling work.

KSEB had initially proposed shifting about 350 metres of the cables from the construction site to the service road. The relocation was estimated to cost around ₹5.5 crore, creating a substantial additional financial burden and making it difficult to complete the approach road using the funds already sanctioned.

RBDCK subsequently explored an alternative to avoid shifting the 110-kV cable. Under the revised design, the number of piles will be increased at locations where the high-voltage cable passes beneath the proposed approach road. At four locations, the number of piles will be increased from three to four, allowing construction to proceed without damaging the underground cable.

The revised design will also reduce the length of cable that needs to be shifted, thereby bringing down the additional cost. RBDCK has approved the structural modification, allowing the approach road to be constructed within the existing allocation.

The 11-kV cable, however, will have to be relocated. KSEB has submitted an estimate of ₹38 lakh to RBDCK for shifting the cable. The construction work is expected to begin after the PWD gives the required approval.

The Pavangad ROB was constructed 11 years ago at a cost of around ₹5.7 crore. However, it has remained unusable in the absence of an approach road. The State government sanctioned ₹12.82 crore for the construction of the approach road more than a year ago.

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