No. 28545300552022/RD Dt.

19-Dec-2022
From
Er. Akshaya Kumar Pradhan
EIC-cum-Special Secretary to Govt.,

To

The Superintending Engineers / Executive Engineers,

All Rural Works Divisions.

Sub:- Quality execution of Bridge Projects in R.D. Department; Regarding.

Sir,

I am directed to say that, at present R.D. Department is executing a large number

of bridges of various span arrangements across whole state to bridge the natural barriers
which has become the point of focus for rural connectivity and boosting up the socio-
economic growth of the State.

At the same time, a number of incidents are being highlighted frequently in

newspapers and social media showing lapses in such bridge projects like – (1) Washing
away and / or heavy settlement of the immediate approach roads; (2) Worn out of the
wearing coat to unacceptable limit; (3) Ponding of water & deposit of soil, dust and
other deleterious material on the deck slab; (4) Spalling out of concrete at the location
of expansion joints & (5) Very steep approach road & approach road with sharp curves
etc.

In order to overcome such issues, much emphasis have been laid down on strict
adherence of the SOP and several letters / executive instructions have been issued in the
recent past, like -

Letter No.28545300032013/RD, dated 18.09.2017 of Sri B.P. Sethi, IAS,

Commissioner-cum-Secretary, R.D. Department – Proper false work for bridge
works.

Letter No.RR-BR-E-Misc-08/2011-9386, dated 04.05.2020 of EIC, Rural Works,

Odisha, Bhubaneswar – Observance of Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) while
constructing bridges.

Letter No.28545300032013/RD dated 13.01.2021 of Sri P. K. Jena, Additional

RD-RW-MISC-0055-2022/1/2022
 Chief Secretary, R.D. Department – Proper false work (Centering, Shuttering &
Staging work) in Bridge constructions.

Letter No.28545300032013/RD dated 22.01.2021of EIC-cum-Special Secretary

to Government, R.D. Department – Duties & Responsibilities of JE/AE, AEE/DEE &
EE in Bridge projects.

Letter No. RR-BR-E-Misc-08/2011, dated 10.03.21 of Chief Engineer (Buildings

& Bridges) - Observance of Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) while
constructing bridges.

Several training sessions have also been conducted at RCTRC, Bhubaneswar to

improve the quality of Bridge projects and it is expected that all field Engineers of the
Department will be more vigilant on these issues. It is further reiterated to adopt the
instructions outlined below apart from previous instructions in order to improve the
quality & architectural aspect of the bridge.

Issue-1. Cantilever Wing Wall(C.W.W), not a necessity in all cases:-

Divisional Engineer while preparing the detailed estimate are including the
provision of cantilever wing wall and executing the same in the field on the plea that it is
provided in the GAD even if it may not be appropriate as per site condition. The
cantilever wing wall is appropriate when the existing bank height of the Nallah is well
above the HFL and the length of the bridge is sufficient enough such that the abutments
are placed very close to the high banks and the C.W.Ws. are anchoring into the high
banks above the HFL. In such situation, C.W.Ws. are to be considered as acceptable in
view of less expenditure involved and no individual foundation is required for such
structure.

In all other situations, use of C.W.W. may be discouraged and appropriate R.C.C.
wing wall to be proposed in the estimate justifying adequately with reference to water
spread limit at HFL of the stream at the proposed bridge location.

Issue-2. Wearing Coat is so vital:-

In order to address type-2 issue, the wearing coat of the bridge need to be cast
with utmost care ensuring use of water reducing agent i.e. plasticizer, super plasticizer
etc. and under strict supervision of the JE / SDO with low water to cement ratio. For
this, all the post and railing works are to be completed first followed by fixation of
suitable expansion joint beams (preferably single mould strip seal expansion beam
obtained from MoRTH empanelled manufacturers ). The 1.0 mtr panel on either side of
the expansion joint beam is to be provided with closely spaced 8mm dia- reinforcement
@ 75mm on both directions. In rest of the wearing coat, 150mm spacing is to be used.
For more guidance, Section 2702 of MoRTH, 5th Revision may be referred to.

Issue-3. Deck Slab to be as clean as possible:-

RD-RW-MISC-0055-2022/1/2022
 In order to address this type of issue, use of good quality drainage spout covered
with stainless steel grating to be ensured. Stainless steel square bar of 12mmX12mm
section may be used for fabrication of the top jally of the drainage spout arrangement.
The 100mm tabular G.I. pipe / corrosion resistant pipe may be fixed below the grating in
the deck slab such that another 100/150mm length is protrude beyond the bottom of the
slab to keep all discharge away from the deck structure. The entire unit of the drainage
spout must be fixed with profound professional skill and care so that not a drop of water
gets accumulated on the deck slab and all dirt, muds etc. get swept down through this
spout to the river and nallaha (Section 2705 of MoRTH may be referred to).

Issue-4. Expansion Joint to be provisioned properly:-

This type of problem arises primarily due to non-fixation of standard expansion

beam, non-maintenance of clear gaps between the adjoining slabs. To avoid this, EIC,
RW(O) has issued one guideline to use strip seal expansion joint in all span irrespective
of their length since 2020. Clear gaps as spelt out in the working drawing is to be
ensured during casting of the deck slab. Gaps constructed in irregular shape and partially
filled up with cement mortar or other deleterious materials need to be taken care of
meticulously.

Issue-5. Entry & exit must be safe:-

Sharp curve or steep gradient in the immediate approach road need to be avoided
invariably. As far as possible, the initial 15m straight approach on either side of the
bridge is to be ensured with carriage way width at par with the deck slab supplemented
with 1.5m shoulder on either side of the carriage way. The width of the carriage way
need to be merged with the design carriage way of the approach road beyond 15.0m in a
gradual manner. Similarly, if curve is essential and unavoidable in the immediate
approach road, it should be done with proper Geometric design with provision of extra
width and super elevation as per relevant IRC standard.

6. As large number of well foundation bridge are being adopted, bottom plugging of the
wells must be ensured using concreting through trimme pipe arrangement to ensure
quality of the bottom plug making the well water resistant to the maximum possible
extent.

7. Use of hessian cloth cover to the pier & abutment; arranging sprinkler between the
pair of T-Beam girders & between the individual box of twin box girder slab are to be
ensured for effective curing apart from establishing mandatory field lab with all sieve
sets, concrete cube mould, concrete beam mould, slump cone etc. to bring
professionalism and good practice in the field of bridge engineering.

Please note that these are some of the vital points to be practised which need
further expansion and innovation at field level to up keep the image of the Department at
respectable height.

RD-RW-MISC-0055-2022/1/2022
 Yours Faithfully

EIC-cum-Special Secretary

CC to:

1. The EIC, Rural Works, Odisha, Bhubaneswar / all Chief Engineers, Rural Works
Organization for information and necessary action.
2. All CCEs (Civil), Rural Works for information and necessary action.

RD-RW-MISC-0055-2022/1/2022