[djpeesh]

This was back in 2011, but I thought it was pretty ingenious. And yes, the shower heads have given way to proper waterfalls now. I drove under the bridge this morning in the rain and you had massive jets of water falling on the cars below. I could have sworn I saw some street kids bathing in the water

http://www.mid-day.com/articles/now-...flyover/130356

[Burn_out]

@Kumar_R : I am guessing this is the under-construction flyover from ITC Sonar Bangla to Park Circus. This scene is something that's been the same for 3 years now. This is still acceptable, as the water from the overhead flyover is atleast draining out. Can't say the same for the other flyovers in the city. Remember, AJC Bose Road Flyover being flooded. Probably the 8th wonder of the world.

Link : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...how/200111.cms

[Kumar R]

Originally Posted by Burn_out

@Kumar_R : I am guessing this is the under-construction flyover from ITC Sonar Bangla to Park Circus. This scene is something that's been the same for 3 years now. This is still acceptable, as the water from the overhead flyover is atleast draining out. Can't say the same for the other flyovers in the city. Remember, AJC Bose Road Flyover being flooded. Probably the 8th wonder of the world.

Link : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...how/200111.cms

Hi Burnout,

Yes, your guess is correct; I think it is an elevated metro track not a flyover (although this problem occurs in some flyovers too).

I can't comment on waterlogged flyovers, having never been in one (even as a passenger) but "acceptable" is probably the last word I would use to describe the drainage problem I wrote about in this thread. I dislike waterlogged roads too but believe that the top of a flyover would not get too heavily waterlogged. Speaking for myself, I would prefer the latter over the risk of having a heavy column of water appearing suddenly and falling from 50 feet high on my car/windscreen or the risk of cars and 2-wheelers frantically swerving to avoid it and banging into me.

[Bh.P]

On a positive note, there are plans to use the rainwater falling on Bangalore Metro rail tracks to fill/rejuvenate lakes along the path.

Metro water to fill Namma lakes

If this is done as per plan, it would be a welcome move, not only to solve the problems discussed here, but more so for the environment.

[gopa99]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Some of those waterfalls are quite wide with a huge volume of water falling down - quite scary actually. Any idea how water is rain water is discharged from flyovers built in developed countries?

I guess there is nothing wrong in the design. They do have inbuilt PVC drain pipes, 10 to 12 inch diameter which runs through inside the concrete. The trouble starts because the drain pits on these flyovers have metal meshes attached which screen out solid waste like cloth, leaves and plastic bags.

These are often missing (may be during road repairs or by vandalism) sending all the muck inside the concealed pipes which then chokes up. The only way off for the rain water is through the expansion joints and lo.... directly on the road beneath.

"For want of a nail" proverbial rhyme best explains this!

[djpeesh]

In Mumbai, a taxi driver uses flyover runoff to shower and wash his car

[SnakemanJohny]

Originally Posted by Octane_Power

In Mumbai I have seen many flyovers having a proper drainage system for this water.

As we have it on our buildings' terraces, same way there is a drainage pipe from the flyover going right to the sewer in the road underneath.

Like this. P.S: Ignore the small pipe on the left side of the main drain pipe I'm talking about :P

-Bhargav

This is a more scientific and durable drainage system. Another system I have seen in some Delhi flyovers is an open drain running along and outside the flyover with intake and discharge points at regular intervals.

But all Calcutta flyovers built recently, or under construction, seem to use a very cheap and flimsy drainage system. They have plastic rain-pipes running down every pillar. These either come loose after some time, or get blocked by disposable bags/paper/leaves that flow in with rainwater. Some even crack very easily, leading to situations like the one in the Bypass Connector flyover, at other places too.

Strange how reputed construction firms like L&T, HCC etc. resort to such 'value engineering' tricks at the cost of safety !

Imagine the plight of a biker suddenly confronted with such a deluge as soon as the SUV in front passes the waterfall. He/she will either be toppled or risks a sudden swerve in front of another vehicle !



Sometime the intake grills/gulley-pits are choked with silt or other solids, creating a situation normally thought impossible -- a waterlogged flyover ! When a vehicle goes through that pool at high speed, not only does it risk aquaplaning, but also sends a sudden and heavy shower over the railing on the unfortunates below, vehicles and pedestrians ! This happens due to bad maintenance/upkeep, and is quite common at certain points on the Vidyasagar(2nd Hooghly) Bridge, though toll collections are substantial and the Chief Minster travels by this bridge every day when she is in Calcutta.

[coolmel]

These are bad design attributes and owe it to the red tape. Even the contractors don't care! The best example right now is the Dindoshi flyover(southbound) which was 'fixed' recently and take a drive now. It shames Mars! The worst of it all is the water accumulation as you exit flyovers leading to aquaplaning.

[SnakemanJohny]

Originally Posted by Kumar R

Hi Burnout,

Yes, your guess is correct; I think it is an elevated metro track not a flyover (although this problem occurs in some flyovers too).

I can't comment on waterlogged flyovers, having never been in one (even as a passenger) but "acceptable" is probably the last word I would use to describe the drainage problem I wrote about in this thread. I dislike waterlogged roads too but believe that the top of a flyover would not get too heavily waterlogged. Speaking for myself, I would prefer the latter over the risk of having a heavy column of water appearing suddenly and falling from 50 feet high on my car/windscreen or the risk of cars and 2-wheelers frantically swerving to avoid it and banging into me.

Sorry, Kumar R, the unfinished project from the "Paroma Island"(E M Bypass) to Park Circus IS a flyover, and not a Metro track. I think you have it confused with the elevated metro-rail project a few kilometres up northeast, in the median of the road towards Salt Lake sector V and New Town. There is another elevated metro-rail project further south on the E M Bypass median -- the Garia-Airport alignment pushed in by Mamata Banerjee when she was the Railways' Minister, but now being sabotaged by her as Chief Minister !

This flyover is supposed to ease the bottlenecks on the Park Circus Bypass Connector, bringing cars non-stop to Park Circus and even to the Second Hooghly Bridge, and will be Calcutta's longest (equivalent to the Worli Sea Link of Bombay). The waterfalls are there because like most projects in Calcutta/WB, it has been lying half completed for the last few years... in those parts the decks are in place but not the drainage. The drain pipes are the last to be fitted, and the first to come off or fall in a state of disrepair ! The issues have been resolved, and work has resumed on this project, so we can hope that the waterfalls will not be there next monsoon.

[ghodlur]

Just found that the newly built Majiwade flyover doesnt have a proper drainage routing for the rain water. The water instead is discharged on the road adding to the water logging. Also the water drainage from the top most point of the flyover is directly dropped down on the passing vehicles and commuters. The impact of the dropping rain water is strong enough to imbalance a unsuspecting commuter or a biker. Couldnt the authorities route it properly through plastic pipes directly into the storm water drains of for that matter rain harvesting techniques. Why arent these thought of in the conceptual stages?