Kolkata's East-West Metro passes the crucial test for the cross-passage

03 May 2024 CW Team

The penultimate cross-passage for East-West Metro has been completed by KMRC beneath Subodh Mullick Square, and they did it without causing any ground settling or structural damage to the eight-story structure that was evacuated last Monday. If grouting continues at this pace, the cross-passage construction should be finished by the end of May, bringing the Esplanade-Sealdah stretch closer to completion.

With the assistance of temporary support, the major microtunnelling work is completed. According to an engineer, the small tunnel rings' concretisation has begun and will probably be finished in three weeks.

The microtunnelling work necessary to construct cross-passage 5B falls inside the influence area of the high-rise located diagonally opposite Hind Inox on Ganesh Chandra Avenue. According to engineers, the base was insufficient for a building with eight stories. Thus, the safety measure. According to officials, the residents of the high-rise will be permitted to return on Wednesday.

In underground Metro lines, cross-passages are little tunnels spaced 250 meters apart that allow passengers to escape from one of the main tunnels in the event of an emergency, such as a fire. Following the subsidence on October 14, 2022, KMRC was forced to remove three of the eight cross-passages that were initially scheduled for the Esplanade-Sealdah stretch.

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