The ongoing rehabilitation work of the Umiam dam will increase its lifespan by 35-40 years.
The dam was built way back in 1965 and since then there has been a lot of concern over its structural safety forcing the government to go for rehabilitation work which started in December last year.
The process of replacing the bearings of the bridge started yesterday.
Speaking about the exercise, Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) Chairman and Managing Director Sanjay Goyal said that with the traffic blockade period which started yesterday, now the work is going on for opening of the expansion joints after which the process of putting jacks and raising the structure will be carried out.
Stating that the process requires careful studies and exercise, Goyal said that the work is going smoothly.
It is learnt that the bridge structure will be raised slightly by 5 mm to 10 mm and everything will be done after going through the norms for the stability of the structure.
When asked about the targeted date for the completion of the entire rehabilitation work, Goyal said that though the scheduled date of completion of the project is June, efforts are being made to ensure that the work is completed by May.
He also said that the authorities are ensuring that there is no rush in completing the work since these are technical in nature.
The MeECL is also taking the assistance of experts from IIT Guwahati for technical guidance and expertise.
According to Goyal, the ongoing rehabilitation work of the Umiam dam will increase its lifespan by another 35-40 years.
Due to the rehabilitation work of the dam, movement of vehicles has been restricted to a great extent on the bridge.
