NCC Launches Bangalore Metro Airport Line Package 1’s 1st U-Girder

NCC Ltd. on Friday launched the first of 698 U-girders for Package 1 of Bangalore Metro’s 37 km Airport Line (Blue Line) which will link Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) to KR Puram.

This milestone was recorded between piers AP110 – AP111 in Horamavu neighborhood using a 27.9m long girder cast at NCC’s yard located in Hennur (view on Google Maps).

This new metro line, under Bangalore Metro Phase 2B project, comprises of 3 civil packages ranging from 11 to 15 kms. NCC was awarded 3 LOA contracts in November 2021 for 15 elevated stations & viaduct construction work, with completion deadlines ranging from 24 – 27 months.

11.003 km Package 1 connects KR Puram – Hebbal (Chainage 0.000 m to 10072.000m) with 8 elevated stations at Kasturi Nagar, Horamavu, HRBR Layout, Kalyan Nagar, HBR Layout, Nagawara, Veerannapalya and Kempapura.

NCC’s Package 1 team started piling work in February 2022 and began casting U-girders for packages 1 & 2 in Hennur in June 2022.

This package’s superstructure consists of 349 U-girder spans and 43 I-girder spans. NCC’s subcontractor AS Cranes ended up placing 2 U-girders, which will become a nightly affair going forward.

A wild timelapse video posted on X (Twitter) can be viewed here.

With this development, U-girder launching activity has started across all 3 civil packages. The first U-girder for 15.011 km Package 3 (Bagalur Cross – Airport) was launched in April 2023 near Chikkajala, while the first for 11.678 km Package 2 (Hebbal – Bagalur Cross) was launched in May 2023 near Bagalur Cross Station.

Package 1’s team took a longer time to reach this milestone due to the severe construction restrictions that were following January’s fatal rebar-related incident.

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– TMRG