Connecting Borders
Real Estate

Connecting Borders

The 189.6-km Goa-Karnataka border-Kundapur four-lane highway project has been recently commissioned by IRB Westcoast Tollway, the SPV of IRB Infrastructure Developers. Part of NH-17, the stretch is an important north-south highway link on the western coast of India. Built at Rs 34.47 billion (includ...

Your next big infra connection is waiting at RAHSTA 2025 – Asia’s Biggest Roads & Highways Expo, Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai. Don’t miss out!

The 189.6-km Goa-Karnataka border-Kundapur four-lane highway project has been recently commissioned by IRB Westcoast Tollway, the SPV of IRB Infrastructure Developers. Part of NH-17, the stretch is an important north-south highway link on the western coast of India. Built at Rs 34.47 billion (including viability gap funding of Rs 5.36 billion), the project has a concession life of 28 years. The company had bagged this project under the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) Phase 4 on design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis. Construction milestones Before the four-laning of the project, the time taken by buses to reach from Karwar to Kundapura was eight hours—now, it takes just four hours. Thus, by widening the existing highway, travel time is reduced drastically, besides benefits such as lesser wear and tear of vehicles and reduction in fuel consumption to a great extent, thus achieving pollution control. This project is a peculiar one that passes through plain, rolling and hilly terrain. It has tunnels and major challenging structures over perennial rivers. “Identification of the bottlenecks and converting these into the achievement of the target through proper planning from the site level to the management level was crucial to complete the project in time,” shares ML Gupta, Joint Managing Director, IRB Infrastructure Developers. Civil specs and scope of work The project has a service road of 61.26 km, 17 major junctions, six minor junctions, 83 cross-road junctions, 14 major bridges, 39 minor bridges, 573 culverts, four flyovers, three vehicular underpasses, 13 pedestrian underpasses, six cattle underpasses, two road-over-bridges, one road-under-bridge, two twin tunnels, three toll plazas, four truck lay byes, and 53 bus bays and bus shelters. “The safety measures for the project were carried out as per the provisions under the Concession Agreement; for example, proper diversion boards, provision of blinkers and barricading construction zones, among others,” says Gupta. Safety measures are in place and monitored 24×7 to avoid any mishap to users of the project. Construction methods At the heart of the project are the technologies, equipment and machineries deployed for construction. The better and more appropriate the machineries, the speedier the progress of the work, enabling completion in the stipulated timeframe. “We had deployed jack-up rigs for the geotechnical investigation, which facilitated speedy work, along with cantilever construction gantries for construction of the large-span bridge on Kali River, launching girder on barges at Sharavathi River and the use of precast girders for other bridges,” elaborates Gupta. “Also, hydraulic piling rigs were used along with conventional rigs.” Further, high-quality materials were used in construction, which will increase the life of the structures and highway, and result in maintenance cost reduction during the O&M period. Major challenges Major challenges involved the construction of the major bridges across the major perennial river and the construction of the twin tunnels. “This could be completed owing to the deployment of advanced machineries and special construction techniques,” says Gupta. He adds that construction of the road by hill cutting to the extent of about 50 m depth and keeping the existing road traffic-worthy was another major challenge, which was overcome with a combination of advanced technology and rich domain knowledge. Considering the geographical and topographical conditions, construction was the toughest job, says Gupta. The project had witnessed major challenges involved in highway engineering, such as the construction of major bridges spanning up to 120 m each close to the Arabian Sea; 1.2-km-long bridges over the perennial river; tunnel construction in both hard and soft rock; and rock cutting for 60 m height and cutting in lateritic hill for about 50 m height. Indeed, it took IRB Infra’s experience and expertise, spanning over two decades, to overcome all these challenges, delivering world-class highway infrastructure for the coastal regions of India. -SERAPHINA D’SOUZA

Next Story
Infrastructure Transport

Indian Railways Marks New Milestone with 4.5 km Long ‘Rudrastra’ Trial

Indian Railways has successfully conducted the trial run of Asia’s longest freight train, named ‘Rudrastra’, achieving a new milestone in cargo transportation, as per news reports. The 4.5 km-long train began its trial from Ganjkhwaja railway station in Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh, and travelled to Garhwa in Jharkhand. Covering a distance of 209 km in 5 hours and 10 minutes, it maintained an average speed of 40.5 km per hour. The train was formed by combining three long-haul racks, with ..

Next Story
Infrastructure Energy

UltraTech Launches India’s First On-Site Hybrid RTC Renewable Energy Project

UltraTech Cement has operationalised a 7.5 MW round-the-clock (RTC) hybrid renewable energy project at its Sewagram Cement Works in Gujarat. The first-of-its-kind solution combines bifacial solar modules with trackers, wind energy and battery storage, co-located on-site, to ensure uninterrupted power for cement manufacturing without grid reliance. The project was executed in collaboration with clean energy solutions provider Gentari. Installed as a behind-the-meter system, it is the country..

Next Story
Infrastructure Transport

Patna Metro Trials Successful, Red Line Priority Corridor to Launch This Month

Patna is set to roll out its first metro rail service later this month, with successful trial runs conducted on the Red Line priority corridor, the Patna Metro Rail Corporation announced.On 7 September, a metro train completed a test run between the Patna depot and Bhootnath station. Officials said the trials involved rigorous checks of rolling stock fitness, overhead electrification (OHE), and track alignment and stability to ensure operational safety and performance.The corridor from the New Pataliputra Bus Terminal to Bhoothnath has been designated as the priority stretch and will be the fi..

Advertisement

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get daily newsletters around different themes from Construction world.

STAY CONNECTED

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Talk to us?