PWD plans sheet pile walls across Kollidam

In addition to the temporary bunds built along the damaged regulator, the Public Works Department (PWD) plans to construct sheet pile walls across the Kollidam river at Mukkombu.

According to sources, a proposal has been submitted to the State government for administrative sanction (AS). The government is likely to give its nod for the project soon. As per the proposal, sheet pile walls will be constructed on both upstream and downstream of the temporary bunds built across the Kollidam. While the sheet pile wall on the downstream will run for 650 meters, it will be constructed for 126 meters on upstream. It is estimated that it will cost around Rs. 40 crore for the project.

Though sheet pile walls have been constructed in a few places in the State, the proposed project is said to be one of the major sheet pile walls to be built across a river in the State.

The project is said to be a fallout after the recent visit of IIT-M professors to Mukkombu, who studied the stability of bunds built across the Kollidam river after the collapse of a portion of British era regulator.

A senior official of the PWD told The Hindu that the sheet walls will be constructed by driving pre-fabricated sections into the ground. The sheet pile walls will be formed by connecting the joints of adjacent sheet pile sections in sequential installation. It was aimed at ensuring the stability of temporary bunds and the remaining structure of regulator.

“The temporary bunds will have to serve the purpose for at least three irrigation seasons till the construction of new regulator. The proposed sheet pile walls will prevent soil erosion and improve the stability of existing structures,” says an official.

He said that the sheet walls would in no way regulate the river flow. But they would protect the temporary bunds and remaining regulatory structure. In addition to it, the walls could be used to prevent flow of water into the river while the new regulator was being constructed. The construction of walls could be completed within two to three months from the date of commencement of works.

Source