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UNDERPASSES UNDER RESTRICTED BOUNDARY

CONDITIONS

Conference Paper · January 2010

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Bansal Shishir, Rustagi S K, Kurian Jose, 3rd fib International Congress - 2010

UNDERPASSES UNDER RESTRICTED BOUNDARY CONDITIONS

Shishir Bansal, M.E., Superintending Engineer, Central PWD, Siliguri, WB, India
Satyender K Rustagi, M.Tech., Superintending Engineer, Central PWD, Siliguri, WB, India
Jose Kurian, M.Tech., Chief Engineer, Delhi Tourism, New Delhi, India

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Rapid growth in vehicular traffic necessitated the

provision of grade separators like flyovers and underpasses in New Delhi.
This paper covers case studies on four underpasses constructed recently in
New Delhi, India with different technologies to overcome the site restrictions.

SCOPE: First underpass constructed at Punjabi-Bagh crossing was placed 12

m below the ground as it was the lowest component of four tier grade
separator. Iron-ore layers were provided on the base slab as counterweight to
annul the high uplift pressure.

Second underpass at Madhuban-Chowk crossing had a restriction of already

planned Metro-rail in transverse direction. High uplift pressure on the base
slab due to high water table was countered by permanent prestressed soil
anchors.

Third Underpass at Prembari-pul crossing had to be designed within the

restricted passage available between the running irrigation canal and Metro
Rail corridor.

Fourth Underpass at Moolchand crossing was to be provided beneath an

existing Flyover in transverse direction. Innovative techniques were used to
provide diaphragm walls beneath the flyover, in between its piers of the
uninterrupable span.

CONCLUSION : While a number of general solutions are available for design

of grade separators, difficult site restrictions demand use of innovative
construction processes and technologies for their successful implementation.

KEY WORDS: Uplift, Ironore, Soil Anchors, Voiders, Diaphragm wall, couplers
Bansal Shishir, Rustagi S K, Kurian Jose, 3rd fib International Congress - 2010

INTRODUCTION

New Delhi, the Capital city of India had been facing phenomenal growth of vehicular traffic
without the proportionate growth of infrastructure. It resulted in all sorts of traffic
congestions, increase in pollution level, exponential rise in traveling time, increase in stress
level, etc. To mitigate these problems, it was decided to construct grade separators at busy
intersections along important corridors. The traffic flow system of Delhi is a Ring-Radial
pattern with two concentric Roads popularly known as Ring Road and Outer Ring Road.
Radials to these rings connect the traffic to the heart of Delhi. Ring Road and Outer Ring
Road are the life lines for the citizens of Delhi. As one of the improvement measures, it was
decided to start with the separation of grades at every junction of these circular roads, so that
crawling traffic along them can be made to run without any interruption on these two
corridors.

Kind of grade separators provided were flyovers, underpasses or in combination of clover

leaves as per the site requirement as well as feasibility. Though many of these locations were
good enough to provide flyovers or underpasses, some of them were not friendly enough to
design the structures without deploying extra design skills. In general, kind of restrictions
faced were limited site available, existence of structures constructed in past, high water table
causing high uplift pressures on foundation systems etc.

This paper covers the underpasses constructed in the recent past at four such locations where
the boundary conditions were not favorable and special design inputs, geometric as well as
structural, were required to make the structure feasible. Four such locations identified are
Punjabi Bagh crossing on Ring Road, Madhuban Chowk intersection on outer Ring Road,
Prembari Pul crossing and Moolchand crossing, both on Ring Road.

PUNJABI BAGH GRADE SEPARATOR

LOCATION

Punjabi Bagh crossing is one of the important intersections on the Ring Road at its junction
with Rohtak Road in western part of Delhi. Here, the traffic volumes were very high along
both the roads and therefore it was essential to provide free traffic movement in both the
directions.

DESIGN CHALLENGES

Number of residential and commercial buildings all around the crossing did not permit a full
clover leaf. Therefore an innovative four tier grade separator was designed and provided for
the first time in the country. The scheme provided for three levels for vehicular traffic and
one separate level for pedestrian movement. The three levels for traffic movement are a
flyover along Ring Road, an Underpass along Rohtak Road and a ground level Rotary for
turning traffic. Since the Underpass was the lowest component of the four tier grade

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separator, it was provided at a depth of about 12 m below the natural ground level. Thus, the
base slab was subjected to large uplift pressure. Fig. 1 shows a cross section of grade
separator with all components like flyover, rotary, pedestrian plaza and Underpass.

Fig. 1 Cross –section of Punjabi Bagh Grade Separator

GENERAL FEATURES

The six lane flyover is 828 m long consisting of 516 m stilt portion and 312 m embankment
portion. There are dual carriageways of 11.0 m each with 1.2 m central median and RCC
(Reinforced cement concrete) crash barrier on either side. The longitudinal gradient is 1 in 30
with a vertical clearance of 5.7 m and 2.5% camber for drainage. A rotary of size 75 m x 50
m (25 m straight portion and semi circle of 50 m diameter on either side) has been provided
at ground level for turning traffic. A pedestrian plaza covering entire intersection on Ring
Road and Rohtak Road with four arms for entry / exit is another feature of this Project.

The 626 m long underpass along Rohtak Road below the surface level Rotary and pedestrian
plaza caters for two way traffic with 11 m wide dual carriageway, each providing 3 lanes.
There is a vertical clearance of 5.5 m The central portion measuring 100 m of Underpass is
covered to accommodate pedestrian plaza and Rotary. The area on either side of this closed
portion is open to sky laid at longitudinal slope of 1 in 30 with two summit curves at extreme
ends and two valley curves where open portions meet the covered portion.

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Bansal Shishir, Rustagi S K, Kurian Jose, 3rd fib International Congress - 2010

STRUCTURAL AND CONSTRUCTIONAL ASPECTS

From structural design and construction considerations the underpass is divided in four zones
as under.

Central Covered Portion (Zone-I)

The central 100 m portion of underpass is a covered one and has two levels. The lower one is
the main underpass for vehicular traffic, while the upper one is a pedestrian plaza. In the
central covered portion, the integrated structural system consist of 800 mm thick, 18 m deep
diaphragm walls along the underpass with one central row of intermittent 800 mm thick and
28 m deep diaphragm wall. The diaphragm walls, outer and central panels, have been
horizontally connected at three levels, i.e. at base slab of Underpass, floor and roof slab level
of pedestrian plaza.

Trellis Portion (Zone-II)

In this portion 800 & 600 mm thick and up to 12 m deep diaphragm walls on the outer side
and 600 mm dia. pile-column at 2.5 m c/c in the central median have been provided. The
trellis have been provided as struts at top, above clear headroom of 5.5 m connecting
diaphragm walls supported on central piles to take care of lateral earth pressure. 500 mm
thick RCC base slab has been provided at bottom, below iron ore, connecting diaphragm
walls. Fig. 2 shows the cross section of underpass with trellis in Zone–II.

Fig. 2 Cross-section of underpass with trellis in Zone II

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Bansal Shishir, Rustagi S K, Kurian Jose, 3rd fib International Congress - 2010

Open Portion with Diaphragm Wall (Zone-III)

In this portion 600 mm thick, 4.5 to 7.5 m deep diaphragm wall has been provided. A 150
mm thick RCC wall has been provided alongside the diaphragm wall to share the lateral load
while also acting as facia wall.

Open Portion with Retaining Wall (Zone-IV)

For depth up to 3 m, open excavation with conventional retaining wall integral with the base
slab was adopted.

The uplift force due to buoyancy was a major factor in deciding the foundation system. The
water table was observed to be varying from 6 to 7 m below the ground level. For purpose of
design, the buoyancy force in the underpass was calculated considering water table at 3 m
below of the original ground level and further to ensure accuracy of the design assumptions
during service life of the structure, weep holes were provided in the diaphragm wall at this
level. The foundation system consisted of RCC base slab spanning between outer diaphragm
walls and thickness varied from 500 mm in Zone-III to 800 mm in Zone-I.

To counteract the uplift forces on base slab due to buoyancy, two alternatives were
considered, one was with the tension piles and the other was the use of dead weight to
counter the uplift. Use of iron ore was preferred over tension piles system for reliability,
economy and speed of construction. The depth of iron ore layer over base slab varied from
500 mm in Zone-III to 1300 mm in Zone –II and 800 mm in Zone-I. Besides this, during
excavation and construction of base slab till the laying of iron ore, the water level was
lowered and maintained at specified lower level through continuous operation of vacuum
pump operated well point dewatering system. Fig. 3 shows the iron ore layers being added
over the base slab to counter the uplift pressure.

Fig. 3 Laying of iron ore layers in progress

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Fig. 4 Underpass and other components

Fig. 4 gives a full view of Underpass along with other components after it was opened to
traffic.

MADHUBAN CHOWK UNDERPASS

LOCATION

Madhuban Chowk is one of the important intersections on the Outer Ring Road at its
junction with road designated as Road No. 41. Here, DMRC (Delhi Metro Rail Corporation)
had already planned an overhead corridor in transverse direction. To plan a flyover over and
above the metro line with all mandatory overhead clearances was not only a costly solution,
but visually annoying against the sky line. This had caused the restriction in providing a
grade separator for vehicular traffic travelling along the outer ring road. Thus, decision was
taken to provide an Underpass along the outer ring road.

DESIGN CHALLENGES

Incidentally, during the Planning stage, when soil investigation was carried out, the
underground water table was found at just 2 m below the ground level, while the construction
of underpass had required going as deep as 7 m. Thus the deepest structural portion of the
underpass i.e. the bottom of the base slab was subjected to pressure of 5m high water column
which was required to be countered. One conventional solution was to provide tension plies
or to add weight to the base slab by adding heavier materials like concrete or iron ore. But
providing any additional layer of any material would have required pushing the slab further
down resulting in further increase in uplift pressure on base slab. In the instant case, the uplift
pressure was already too high to have a reasonable thickness of counterweight. Other
alternative of providing tension piles under water was found to be unsafe solution in terms of
durability. Under the circumstances, the feasible solution was to anchor the slab by means of
prestressed ground anchors.

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GENERAL FEATURES

The 555 m long Underpass caters for two way traffic, with 9 m wide dual carriageway, each
providing 3 restricted lanes. The central portion of the Underpass is covered with 1200 mm
thick prestressed voided slab with a clearance of 5.3 m for the through traffic. The length of
this covered corridor is 60 m and is horizontal in longitudinal direction, but have a camber of
2.5 % for draining out the rain water.

The slab at top caters for cross and turning traffic at grade. The area on either side of this
closed portion is open to sky laid at longitudinal slope of 1 in 30 with two summit curves at
extreme ends and two valley curves where open portions meet the covered portion. One arm
of the Underpass is in a curve with 4 % super-elevation and remaining is provided with a
normal camber of 2.5 % to drain out the rain water. Fig. 5 shows a cross section of
Underpass in covered portion.
1200 mm thick slab in covered portion
5300 mm

800 mm thick 75 mm thick 800 mm thick

base slab PFRC Wearing Course Diaphragm wall

9000 9000
2.5% SLOPE 2.5% SLOPE

Soil Anchor
(Typical)

Fig. 5 Typical Cross Section of Underpass through the covered portion

STRUCTURAL AND CONSTRUCTIONAL ASPECTS

Top-down construction methodology was adopted for construction. The side retaining walls
were designed and constructed as Diaphragm walls having thickness 800mm at deep portions
and 600 mm at shallow portions. The diaphragm walls for the open portion were designed as
cantilevered elements by providing one and one-half times the cantilevered length as grip
length below the base slab. As a part of top down construction, first of all 800 mm thick
diaphragm wall panels of closed portion were cast followed by the casting of slab at the
required level on the virgin soil only. After casting of all diaphragm wall panels on both
sides of covered portion of Underpass, the excavation was carried out to remove the earth.
Since the water table in the Underpass area was too high, dewatering wells were provided at
close intervals to keep the water table low and ease out the construction activities like
excavation, waterproofing, laying of base slab and installation of anchors including
prestressing and grouting etc. After successful installation of the anchors, remaining works
like Poly Fibre Reinforced Concrete wearing course, cladding to diaphragm wall with
decorative finish, crash barriers, planters etc. were executed and traffic was allowed through
the Underpass.

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Bansal Shishir, Rustagi S K, Kurian Jose, 3rd fib International Congress - 2010

General layout of anchors

A total of 990 soil anchors were provided in the area, wherever the slab was subjected to
unbalanced uplift pressure. For the convenience of execution, all the anchors in complete
underpass area were made of 40 T capacity, but depending upon the uplift pressure expected,
the spacing between the anchors were adjusted. In the shallow area, the spacing had been
kept as 3.5 m centre to centre in both directions and when the depth is increased to 4 m, the
spacing was reduced to 2.5 m centre to centre in both the directions.

Fig. 6 Details of the Anchor (L-Section and Cross Sections)

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Bansal Shishir, Rustagi S K, Kurian Jose, 3rd fib International Congress - 2010

Design capacity of soil anchor

Initially Performance Test, Proof Test and Creep Test were conducted for 40 T capacity on 3
anchors in project area in accordance with the FIP recommendations for the design and
construction of prestressed concrete ground anchors. The parameters adopted were, bonded
length of anchor as 10m, un-bonded length of anchor as 10m and the dia of bore-hole as
150mm. Fig. 6 shows the vertical section and cross section of the typical anchor.

Installation and Prestressing of anchors

RCC Base slab (800 mm thick in the deep portion and 600 mm thick in shallow portion) was
cast prior to the installation of the anchors. While the base slab was cast, a through hole of
300 mm dia. was created at the anchor locations and after the concrete was set and gained
sufficient strength, 150 mm Ø bore in the soil beneath the base slab was drilled using
hydraulic rotary drilling machine. Fig. 7 shows the hydraulic rig C-6 in operation

Fig. 7 C-6 Hydraulic Rig in operation

As one of the corrosion protection measures adopted to protect the strands, the anchors were
grouted internally as well as externally with cement grout.

Fig. 8 Anchors installed in position

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After grouting, the anchor was prestressed after a minimum of 21 days. The pressure
grouting through injection-grouting was carried out to effectively seal any loose pockets and
eliminate the possibility of water oozing. All anchorages were epoxy painted and covered
with grout after stressing. The recess was then concreted with non-shrink grout. Fig. 8.
Shows the anchors installed in position.

The base slab was overlaid by 75 mm thick poly-fiber reinforced concrete wearing course as
a protection layer to soil anchors and smooth riding surface.

Fig. 9 Madhuban Chowk Underpass in use

Fig. 9 gives a full view of Underpass along with DMRC rail corridor after it was opened to
traffic.

PREM BARI UNDERPASS

LOCATION

Prembari Pul crossing is one of the important intersections on the Ring Road at its junction
with road designated as Road No. 37 (Raja Nahar Singh Marg). To facilitate the smooth
movement of traffic, it was decided to provide a grade separator at this intersection. Various
options considered were the cloverleaves interchange option which was not feasible due to
space restrictions. The flyover option though good but was not possible due to presence of
DMRC structure on the western side. Considering the above constraints, Underpass along
Ring Road was the only feasible option to minimize bottlenecks for Ring Road traffic.

DESIGN CHALLENGES

DMRC had already constructed elevated corridor on its western side, while Yamuna
Irrigation Canal was existing on its eastern side. Due to these limitations on both the sides,
the Underpass was to be designed within the limited length of 255 m. This had caused the

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Bansal Shishir, Rustagi S K, Kurian Jose, 3rd fib International Congress - 2010

restriction in designing an underpass along the ring road. For a normal underpass with a
covered portion of 35 m, length of the underpass required is around 425 m keeping 1 in 25 as
maximum permitted gradient and 30 m long summit/valley curves. To overcome all these
restrictions, the Underpass was planned by partially raising the intersection from the existing
ground level up to 3.5 m and partially lowering the Ring Road to a maximum of 2.5 m from
the current levels.

GENERAL FEATURES

The 255 m long Underpass caters for two way traffic with 9.2 m wide dual carriageway, each
providing 3 restricted lanes. The central portion of the Underpass having a length of 35 m is
covered with 1200 mm thick prestressed voided slab which caters for cross traffic and
turning traffic at 3.5 m above grade. The area on either side of this closed portion is open to
sky laid at longitudinal slope of 1 in 25 with two summit curves at extreme ends and two
valley curves where open portions meet the covered portion. Fig. 10 shows a section of
Underpass in covered portion.

Fig. 10 Typical Cross Section of Underpass

STRUCTURAL AND CONSTRUCTIONAL ASPECTS

The construction of the Underpass was taken up using top down technology. The side
retaining walls were designed and constructed as Diaphragm wall having thickness 800mm at
deep portions and 600 mm at shallow portions. As a part of top down construction, first of all
800 mm thick diaphragm wall panels of closed portion were cast followed by raising the wall
as the level of the central portion of the underpass was designed as raised from normal
ground level.

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Bansal Shishir, Rustagi S K, Kurian Jose, 3rd fib International Congress - 2010

Thereafter the slab was cast and after maturity of slab concrete, the excavation was carried
out to remove the earth followed by finishing works like 125 mm thick PFRC (Poly Fiber
Reinforced concrete) wearing course, cladding to diaphragm wall, crash barriers, planters etc.

Fig. 11 A view of Underpass in operation

Fig. 11 gives a view of Underpass after the same was opened to traffic.

MOOLCHAND UNDERPASS

LOCATION

Moolchand interchange is one of the critical intersections on the Ring Road at its junction
with Lala Lajpat Rai Path in southern part of Delhi. Here, Delhi PWD (Public Works
Department) had already constructed a six lane flyover along Lala Lajpat Rai Path. It was not
feasible to plan another flyover over and above the existing flyover. This had caused the
restriction in providing a grade separator for vehicular traffic travelling along the Ring Road.
Thus, decision was taken to provide an Underpass along the Ring Road.

GENERAL FEATURES

422 m long Underpass caters for two way traffic with 9.15 m wide dual carriageway, each
providing 3 lanes. The central portion of the Underpass is covered with 1000 mm thick
prestressed voided slab with a clearance of 5.3 m for the through traffic. The length of this
covered corridor is 72 m and is horizontal in longitudinal direction, but with a camber of
2.5% for draining out the rain water. The slab at top caters for cross and turning traffic at
grade. The area on either side of this closed portion is open to sky laid at longitudinal slope
of 1 in 30 with two summit curves at extreme ends and two valley curves where open
portions meet the covered portion. Fig. 12 shows a section of Underpass in covered portion.

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Bansal Shishir, Rustagi S K, Kurian Jose, 3rd fib International Congress - 2010

Fig. 12 : Typical cross section of Underpass with flyover in transverse direction

DESIGN CHALLENGES

To provide an Underpass under the existing flyover was a big challenge. The first challenge
was to restrict the Underpass within the uninterrupable span of the flyover and saving its
Piers and foundations from any kind of distress while laying the foundation of Underpass.
Next challenge was to provide diaphragm wall in the area beneath the flyover due to
restrictions in height making impossible for the conventional rig to operate in this area.

STRUCTURAL AND CONSTRUCTIONAL ASPECTS

The construction of the Underpass was taken up using top down construction. The side
retaining walls were designed and constructed as Diaphragm walls having thickness 800mm
at deep portions and 600 mm at shallow portions. As a part of top to bottom construction,
first of all 800 mm thick diaphragm wall panels of closed portion were cast. For the
construction of diaphragm wall at central 24m stretch beneath the flyover, having limited
headroom available for works (which is approx. 5.2 m), special rig (RH6) and special tripod
for lowering the reinforcement cage were deployed. After construction of guide wall, the
RH6 was erected. Rotary drill of 800 mm dia was attached to the rig. Mud reservoir was
filled up and trenching was commenced with drill. Drill was rotated in the controlled head of
bentonite mud. After predetermined drilling time, the drilled muck was taken out with
Reverse Circulation method. Fig. 13 shows a view of the machinery deployed for providing
diaphragm wall under the flyover area and the earth slurry being flushed out.

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Bansal Shishir, Rustagi S K, Kurian Jose, 3rd fib International Congress - 2010

Fig. 13 Working system of RH-6 rig

Fabricating a reinforcement cage of 20 m height and then inserting in the vertical slit of
diaphragm wall was another challenging task. So, the reinforcement cages were fabricated in
parts of 4 m height each and each of them were joined by means of mechanical couplers.

Fig. 14 : Coupled Reinforcement bars

Each part of the cage inserted and kept on hold at specific height for making a connection
with next cage by mechanical coupler. The special tripod hoisted the cage and then lowered it
in to the complete trench. By this process, the total height of the reinforcement cage was
completed and inserted. Fig. 14 shows the reinforcement bars being connected by means of
mechanical couplers.

After lowering the re-inforcement cage, tremie pipe was lowered in pieces (connected while
lowering) for full depth of trench, with the help of special tripod. Concreting was done with
tremie method. Thereafter the slab was cast and only after maturity of slab concrete, the
excavation was carried out to remove the earth. Remaining construction activities like
excavation, laying of 300 mm thick RCC base slab and PFRC wearing course, cladding to
diaphragm wall with decorative finish, crash barriers, planters etc. were executed and traffic
was allowed through the Underpass.

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Bansal Shishir, Rustagi S K, Kurian Jose, 3rd fib International Congress - 2010

MONITORING OF ADJACENT STRUCTURES

The diaphragm wall and adjacent structures were monitored for settlement and lateral
displacement of the surrounding soils during and after the construction of the wall. The
settlement of the existing foundations was measured by taking levels using leveling
instruments. The displacement of the surrounding soils was monitored using inclinometers
installed in between the diaphragm wall and adjacent structures.

Fig. 15 A view of Underpass with flyover

Fig. 15 gives a view of the Underpass after opening to traffic.

CONCLUSION

There are no conventional methods which will give general solution to creation of grade
separators at major intersections. Restrictions at site demand innovative planning and design
and use of high technology input in the construction methodology. Constraints do exist, but a
feasible solution is always available. It requires a good planning after considering the various
options to overcome any constraint. The four Underpasses discussed in this paper had some
kind of limitations. Base slab of Punjabi Bagh Underpass being too deep, had to bear a good
amount of uplift pressure which was overcome by adding counter weight in the form of iron
ore layer on the base slab. At Madhuban Chowk Underpass, water table being too high
created high uplift pressure on base slab, which was annulled by providing 20 m deep soil
anchors at a spacing of 2.5 and 3.5 m c/c. Prembari Underpass had limiting length due to
permanent structure on eastern as well as western side and permissible gradients were
achieved by raising the levels of the intersection. Moolchand Underpass was to be
constructed under an existing flyover and between the piers of uninterrupable span, thus
innovative methods were used to provide diaphragm wall and simultaneously protecting the
foundation of Flyover from any kind of damages.

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 Bansal Shishir, Rustagi S K, Kurian Jose, 3rd fib International Congress - 2010

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors are thankful to Er. Pradeep Garg, Executive Engineer, Punjabi Bagh Grade
Separator Project, Er. B B Badhwa, Executive Engineer, Prembari Pul Underpass Project and
Er. K C Pant, Executive Engineer, Moolchand Underpass Project who have provided the
necessary information, relevant data and project photographs, without which it was not
possible to complete the paper in the present shape.

REFERENCES

1. Narayan D., Agrawal K. N., Chugh B.K. and Rustagi S.K., “Multi level grade separator
at Ring Road”, Journal of the Indian Roads Congress Vol. 64-3, December 2003,
pp.453-479.
2. Bansal S., Gupta V., Kurian J., “Use of prestressed soil anchors in the construction of an
Underpass in high water table zone”, presented in 2nd fib International Congress -2006
at Naples, Italy, June 05-08, 2006, paper no. 395.

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