BMRCL springs into action, fills sinkhole on Brigade Road

The BMRCL has swung into action to fill the sinkhole that appeared on Brigade Road on Thursday and strengthen the surrounding areas to ensure the road’s safety.

Engineers inspected the road to find the soil weak or loose up to four metres below the road level and strong after that. A senior Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) engineer said they plan to strengthen the surrounding areas as well.

“Since there is water up to four metres, it would have carried away the silt content, leaving a cavity. Hence, we need to strengthen the surrounding areas to avoid more sinkholes from being formed,” the engineer told DH.

The BMRCL has identified five points surrounding the sinkhole where they would pour mortar to strengthen the area. “We plan to start grouting on Friday night. Grouting is the process where we will pour a mixture of cement and water inside the hole or the gap formed. This will serve two purposes — strengthening the soil and preventing the water flow,” an engineer explained.

As an immediate measure, the engineers decided to fill the hole with concrete, and this raised concerns. “We filled it with concrete only as an immediate measure since concrete is easily available and is the best strengthening agent. We plan to take further measures on Friday night and Saturday night,” an engineer said.

Authorities barricaded the stretch where the sinkhole appeared and allowed vehicular movement on the rest of the road from Friday afternoon. Officials said the work should be done in a phased manner to avoid traffic disruptions during the weekend.

“This particular road witnesses heavy traffic and hence, we have planned to carry out the work only during the night, so as to not disrupt the movement of traffic,” the official said.