Delhi Metro casts first-ever pier of phase 4 work

New Delhi: The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) took another important step forward in its Phase 4 construction work as the first pier of this phase of Metro expansion was cast on the Janakpuri West-RK Ashram Marg Metro corridor, the PSU said in an official statement on July 26. "The pier was cast at Keshopur on the elevated stretch between Keshopur and Mukarba Chowk last night. This major construction milestone has been achieved despite a severe shortage of manpower and other logistical challenges because of the ongoing pandemic," DMRC said.

The average height of the piers on this corridor is 10 metres. However, the height of the piers will be 20 metres at Madhuban Chowk (crossing with Line 1) and 25 metres at Haiderpur Badli Mor where this line will cross line 2. At Haiderpur Badli Mor, the rail level is going to be the highest, i.e, 28 metres, in the history of Delhi Metro. Presently, the highest point is at Dhaula Kuan, where Line 7 viaduct passes at a height of 23.6 metres. The approximate distance between each pier will be about 28 metres.

Piers, in terms of civil engineering, are vertical load-bearing structures which act as an intermediate support for adjacent ends of two spans. They form the vertical support structures on which the elevated Metro viaducts stand. Metro piers today dot innumerable road medians in Delhi through which elevated Metro corridors run. Pier numbers are now important landmarks for addresses across the NCR.

The 28.92-km-long Janakpuri West-RK Ahsram Marg corridor is an extension of Magenta Line and will come up with 22 stations. While 21.18 kilometres of this corridor will be elevated, 7.74 kilometres will be underground. The construction work on this particular section had started in December last year.

On July 17, work on the underground section of this corridor had commenced with the beginning of D Wall construction work at the Krishna Park Extension Metro station. On June 24, DMRC had started the casting work of u-girders which would be installed on the elevated section of this corridor.

Under phase 4, 61.679 kilometres of new Metro lines shall be constructed across three different corridors, comprising 45 Metro stations. These new sections shall provide interconnectivity among the already operational sections of Delhi Metro. Out of this, 22.35 kilometres will be underground, while the rest will be elevated.

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