Concrete rehabilitation work to be carried out

KOLLAM: Brushing aside apprehensions over the safety of the Perumon Railway Bridge across the Ashtamudi Lake, the engineers of the Permanent Track and Bridges Wing of the Railways said that the crack found in the pillar of the down track does not pose any threat to the bridge’s durability.Sources in the Railways said that a proposal had been moved to the Railway Divisional Office to conduct concrete rehabilitation work on the crack. “We expect the works to commence within 15 days and only the procedural delays remain,” source said. Local people, who passed under the bridge in boats, had found the visibly one-metre-long crack in one of the pillars of the two-decade-old bridge. They said that the plastering of the pillar was in a deteriorating state and the steel inside it had corroded. Meanwhile, the railway engineers said that it was a ‘usual phenomenon’ considering the highly corrosive environment. Based on a report by the Engineering Wing the rectification works will include an epoxy coating to the steel rods and grouting.