Maharashtra gets infrastructure tips from China
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Mumbai, Maharashtra, May 28, 2010 /India PRwire/ — With the vision of bringing world class infrastructure in Maharashtra, the top brass of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation Ltd (MSRDC) recently visited Hong Kong and Shanghai on a study tour.
The idea behind the five day tour (between May 17-21) was to understand the advanced technology used in the urban infrastructure like bridges, roads, tunnels, waterways and the high speed trains in both the countries. The study tour comprised of Mr Jaidutt Kshirsagar, Hon. Minister PWD (PU) and Chairman, MSRDC, Mrs. Sonia Sethi Vice Chairman & Managing Director, MSRDC, Mr. Shyamal Kumar Mukherjee, Joint Managing Director, MSRDC and Mr S M. Sabnis, Chief Engineer, MSRDC. The tour was conducted by the U.K. based international consultancy firm Ove Arup and Partners (OAP), which has been entrusted with the entire project consultancy for the proposed Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link ( Western Freeway) between Worli to Haji Ali (IIA) and further the Haji Ali to Nariman Point (II B) portions.
The following is the gist of the visit:
Day 1: 17th May 2010:
Hong Kong: The team visited the Stonecutters Bridge, the world’s second largest cable-stayed bridge, which was opened to traffic in December 2009. This high level bridge spans the Rambler channel in Hong Kong, connecting Nam Wan Kok, Tsing Yi Island and Stonecutters island. The bridge spans 1.6 km, with 3 lanes in each direction. It is a cable-stayed bridge with two bridge towers, one on Tsing Yi island and the other on Stonecutters island.
Nam Wan Tunnel: This road tunnel in Hong Kong was completed and opened to traffic on also in 2009 linking Tsing Yi and Sha Tin. The twin-tube tunnel, built by the Hong Kong Highways Department, is designed by OVE ARUP (UK). This 1.2km long tunnel has three lanes in either direction in the southern part of Tsing Yi from Sai Tso Wan to Nam Wan Kok. The twin tunnels are 15mts wide with 12 cross passages emergency walkways, and a portal building at each end. Incidentally, the bridge was constructed by blasting the existing granite and volcanic rocks without disturbing the topography.
The MSRDC team also visited the state-of-the-art surveillance and control room of this tunnel. The tunnel is built by implementing the ‘cut-and-cover’ methodology, which the state corporation is planning to implement in the proposed Worli- Nariman Point and Sewree-Nhava Sheva sea link. The team was shown a demonstration of the ‘drill and blast technique’ in respect of a sewerage tunnel almost 30 m below a residential locality. The blast was being done at a depth of 30 metres below a school building on a working day. The entire blast and its aftermath of clearance, coverage was monitored from the ground level control room. There was no perception of any vibrations at the ground level due to the controlled blasting operation carried out to drill the tunnel.
Day 2: 18th May 2010:
In Hong Kong, the MSRDC team and experts studied the waterways transport system in the water channels of the island city and carried out discussions with the ferry operators to appreciate the operations and management of the water transport systems based on catamarans and hovercraft type vessels. The corporation has already floated tender for west coast waterways project in Mumbai that would link Borivali to Nariman Point.
The team also visited the Tsing Ma bridge which a 1.4 km long suspension bridge in Hong Kong. The bridge is a deck comprising a steel box with the road taken at the deck level and the tree cell box has twin railway track in the central cell and has two road lanes in the outer cells. This visit to the rail cum road bridge was especially useful from the perspective of utilizing this model for the proposed Mumbai Trans Harbour Link with a road as well as a high speed rail link.
Day 3: 20th May 2010:
From Hong Kong the delegation flew to Shanghai, the Chinese commercial hub. They studied the bridges across Hangchow bay and Donghai bay the two longest sea links in the world 36 kms and 32 kms respectively. These bridges were reported to be completed within four years. Both these bridges aim at connecting Shanghai with the new proposed port harbor facilities being created in this area.
Day 4: 21st May 2010:
The MSRDC team visited to Sutong Bridge, the world’s largest cable stayed bridge. The bridge crosses the Yangtze river upstream from Shanghai and carries a six-lane highway with emergency lanes. The total length of the bridge is six kms. The main bridge is a cable-stayed bridge with a world record-breaking 1,088 metre main span. The exhibition centre housing the models of the bridge and the showcasing the various construction operations as well as other technical details of the bridge was also visited.
Besides this, delegation visited the ongoing World Expo in Shanghai, and the Indian Pavilion at the expo and held discussions with the officials managing the Indian Pavillion. The team also travelled in the high-speed Maglev train which connects the city to the airport. The trains run with a speed of 461 kms/hour and use the magnetic levitation technique.
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