The new Zuari Bridge, an engineering marvel under construction in Goa, is just two sections away from completion, but its opening date for traffic is still a matter of speculation.
       Two Chinese officials from Liuzhou Ovium Machinery Co., a subcontractor involved in the bridge project – Deputy General Manager Wei Zhejun and his team member Li Shuangrong – were unable to comment on a specific completion date.
       Both men were at the bridge’s construction site on Monday (August 22), taking stock of the work completed. When GT asked them about the completion date, they only said that vehicular traffic on the bridge would be allowed soon after the completion of the last two sections.
       Deogonda Patil, deputy project manager of Dilip Buildcon Ltd, who was accompanied by two company officials, said the Zuari bridge is likely to be commissioned within the next two months, depending on unpredictable weather conditions during the monsoon.
       According to him, installation work on two sections is still ongoing and construction will begin on August 25. If all goes according to plan, construction on the final section will begin on August 30. “Once this work is completed, the final tasks will be force control, installing barriers, handrails and other small details. In addition, dampers will be installed on the cables to minimize vibrations caused by traffic on the bridge,” he said. added.
       One of the main attractions that many people know about but are unaware of its intricate details are the cables that connect the various parts together.
       Giving details about the cable-stayed bridge, Patil said that the height of the towers from the pile caps is 100 meters and from the bridge deck is 86 meters. “The width of the bridge span is 27 meters, including sidewalks on both sides. The width of the main lane is 16 meters,” he said.
       He also said the two parallel bridges will each have four lanes for a total of eight lanes.
       The overall supervision of the bridge is being carried out by Atul Joshi, Vice President (Structure) of Dilip Buildcon Ltd.
       Patil said that 56 cables were used in one tower of the bridge and the total number of cables in the entire bridge was 224. “A coating of galvanized iron, wax and polyethylene is used between the cables, which acts as an anti-corrosion barrier.” For the salty and humid climate of Goa, each cable consists of 61 cores with a diameter of 15.7 mm. China by OVM, he added, only 1,300 tons of cable. The materials used in the construction of the bridge weigh 350 tons per section measuring 12×27 meters. “
       He said the cables used on the bridge were brought from China and inspected by the project contractor and government agencies.
       Patil said the bridge is designed to have a service life of 120 years. “The maintenance work of the bridge will be carried out by DBL Ltd for the next eight years and later it will be handed over to PWD Goa. The bridge will be open to all vehicles including two wheelers which will bring a lot of benefits. convenience for motorists,” he added.
       Wei Zhejun and Li Shuangrong, executives of OVM Machinery Co., Ltd., told GT that the company is one of the top five largest cable tray manufacturers in the world. “The company has extensive experience in constructing and supplying materials for cable-stayed bridges in China and other countries such as Indonesia, Tanzania, Hong Kong, South Korea and Myanmar,” they said.
       They said the cables used in the Zuari project were tested in Chicago, US, before being used in construction.
       Lee revealed more details, stating that their company is located in Southern China, above Vietnam. The company’s main goal is to help clients overcome project challenges through services and products, they added.
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