Tiruchi Corporation uses prefabricated culverts to speed up stormwater drainage works

A prefabricated culvert installed on Anbu Nagar Main Road in Tiruchi. | Photo credit: ANCY DONAL MADONNA

The Tiruchi Corporation has started redevelopment of stormwater drains using precast reinforced cement concrete (RCC) box culverts to speed up the work in the city.

After a satisfactory trial, the municipality has started using prefabricated box culverts on wide residential roads in all five zones. The method is said to be simple and less time-consuming.

Precast concrete box culverts were installed last month in Ward 58 in Zone IV at Gandhi Nagar and Anbu Nagar Main Road in Crawford. The work was completed within a day, while the conventional method of constructing culverts would have taken more than a week.

The civic body is carrying out the work in areas where the underground drainage (UGD) project has been completed. Similar prefabricated drains were installed in Anna Nagar, Ponnagar, Rajaram Salai and Tiruverumbur.

Precast culverts are used on roads where two rainwater drains intersect. The concrete box culvert of approximately 1.2 meters is used for the project.

Instead of the conventional method, which involves halting vehicular traffic for days, the civic body used prefabricated box culverts as it would take less than a day. “The prefabricated culverts are highly durable and take very less time. There is also no need to divert traffic, making the process simple. This method would be implemented in feasible areas,” a senior official of the Corporation said.

However, residents complain that the prefabricated culverts have made the road higher, causing the side streets to be lower.

Meanwhile, the municipality has identified deficient stormwater drains in residential areas and is carrying out construction and maintenance work. Earlier, a study was conducted to identify streets that do not have stormwater drains in the city.