Chennai Metro Phase 2 Reaches Major Milestone: First U-Girder Launched For Line-3 Viaduct

In a major stride for urban infrastructure development,Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Wednesday launched their first U-girder for the construction of the 45.4 km Chennai Metro Line-3's 10 km elevated package EV-01/RT-01 between Nehru Nagar and Sholinganallur.

This milestone, part of the 116.1 km Chennai Metro Phase 2 project, occurred between Okkiyampet and Karapakkam on Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) using an impressive 30-meter-long U-girder. Notably, this U-girder stands as the longest ever erected in India for building a metro line's viaduct. In comparison, U-girders in other cities like Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, and Kanpur have typically been a maximum of 27.90 meters long.

According to Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. (CMRL)'s press release, Larsen & Toubro employed an innovative puller axle system for transporting and erecting the girder-a first in Indian metro rail construction. A specially designed trailer, with 12 axles each carrying 8 tires for a total of 96 tires, ensured optimal weight distribution, stability, and flexibility during the seamless transportation of the 185MT U Girder. This marked a new benchmark in metro construction, highlighting CMRL's commitment to excellence.

L&T was awarded the Rs. 963 crore construction contract for EV-01/RT-01 by CMRL in June 2022, with a 36-month deadline. The casting works for U-girders commenced in February 2023.

L&T's scope of work includes constructing a 10 km viaduct, starting from a ramp south of Taramani Link Road Station, with 9 stations at Nehru Nagar, Kandanchavadi Perungudi, Thoraipakkam, Mettukuppam, PTC Colony, Okkiyampet, Karapakkam, Okkiyam Thoraipakkam, and Sholinganallur.

Tunneling work north of the ramp is also being carried out by L&T as part of Package TU-02. L&T achieved this milestone in 19 months since the contract award, which, although on the higher side compared to U-girder launches elsewhere, emphasizes the varied site conditions across the country. For comparison with ongoing projects, JMC Projects took 7 months for Kanpur, Sam India Builtwell took 13 months for Agra Metro, NCC took 17 months for Bengaluru Namma Metro's Airport Line, and YFC Projects - Montecarlo JV took 21 months in Patna.