Steel flyover upkeep costly and complex affair, say experts

The state government will be unable to maintain the proposed steel flyover as it does not have the expertise in managing a steel structure and the area below it, opine city-based engineers.

Mohammed Khalid, a mechanical engineer and managing director of Team Work, who was a part of the human chain from Basaveshawara Circle to Mehkri Circle on Sunday said: “The steel flyover is a disaster and its maintenance a huge financial burden on the government.

Steel flyovers are an old concept and are not preferred as they are a burden because of their maintenance cost.” Khalid said that if a concrete structure needs Rs 10 crore for maintenance once in five years, the steel structure will need double or even triple the amount annually.

This is because the pillars and road surface will have to be painted and tarred every year. In case of concrete flyovers, the pillars are on the middle of the road and the structure is spread out. But it is not so in case of a steel flyover. There will be many pillars and due to this rain water will percolate underground on the sides of the pillar and lead to water stagnation and rusting of pillars. The drains and underground pipes will be affected and this will hamper the entire structure. The government has to look into all these issues before burdening the tax payers, Khalid added.

Regular maintenance

He stated that while the structure will be of steel and the road surface will be of concrete. Thus the government will have to regularly maintain the plates between the cement and steel surfaces.

Echoing a similar view, Prof T G Sitharam from Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Science said that the steel flyover will require huge maintenance costs and it will be a burden on the government. This is something which the government should not ignore, he added.