Piling work on along another stretch of Metro Reach 6

BENGALURU: Work for putting in place soil retaining structures is on at a steady pace along the upcoming Vellara Junction-Lakkasandra station — a crucial stretch of Metro’s Underground Corridor on Reach 6. The 3.66-km stretch between Vellara Junction to Lakkasandra will require over 3,500 piling structures to be built, said a Metro official.

“Piling structures can be described as laying the foundation that is required to ensure that the soil above does not give way when excavation works are carried out beneath the ground,” he said. AFCONS has been given the contract for this package. Piling work has begun at Jayanagar Fire station from where a ramp will connect it to Vellara junction. “Less than 25% of the piling work is over. It will take six months to complete it,” the official added.  

Three more tunnel boring machines (TBM) will be procured for tunnelling along this stretch. “These are still in the manufacturing stage abroad. The first four which arrived from China are being deployed along a different underground segment,” the official said. 

Two TBMs will be bored from the fire station to Vellara. “One TBM will work between Vellara and Langford station. After reaching its destination, drilling will be done in the reverse direction,” he explained.

“Except the Langford station, preliminary work has begun along all the other Metro stations,” the official said. The first stretch of tunnelling began from Shivajinagar to Tannery Road last week with the Chief Minister flagging off work by the TBM Urja. The Underground  Corridor has a deadline of June 2024.