New bypass for Meghalaya, India

A new two-lane road has been built in Meghalaya, India, providing a challenging project for the construction team The new road lies at a comparatively high altitude and provides a bypass around Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya and which is one of the smallest states in India. Shillong is located 1,496m above sea level, with the highest point being Shillong Peak at almost 2,000m, and the area has a much cooler climate than the rest of tropical India. Shillong is also only 55km away from Mawsynram, which is
November 21, 2014 Read time: 3 mins
Volvo CE machines worked successfully on the Shillong bypass project in India

A new two-lane road has been built in Meghalaya, India, providing a challenging project for the construction team
The new road lies at a comparatively high altitude and provides a bypass around Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya and which is one of the smallest states in India.

Shillong is located 1,496m above sea level, with the highest point being Shillong Peak at almost 2,000m, and the area has a much cooler climate than the rest of tropical India. Shillong is also only 55km away from Mawsynram, which is officially the world’s wettest place.

The Shillong bypass connects the top of the main NH-40 highway starting at Umiam in Ri-Bhoi district to the bottom of the NH-44 highway at Mawryngknend in the East Khasi Hills district. It included building about 500km of road for two-lane traffic as well as a 2.5m shoulder on each side. The 3577 National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) awarded the project to Shillong Expressway, which then contracted out the work to infrastructure company, InfraProjects.

The total project cost an estimated US$39.8 million (2,510 million Rupees) and was completed in spring 2014, two years after the project commenced. The work was finished before its scheduled completion date and has raised the expectation of more road construction in the region. Two major high level steel girder bridges were also constructed, 45m long by 30m high, as well as five minor bridges, an underpass, four bypasses, two major junctions, 64 small junctions and seven bus bays.

GR Infra Projects used excavators from 359 Volvo CE throughout the project, including five 14tonne class EC140BLCs and two 20tonne EC210B-Series models to dig and remove overburden. These were supplied and supported by local Volvo CE dealer, Esdee Solutech.

Because of the mountainous terrain, a lot of cut and fill was required, resulting in a huge amount of earthmoving in order to keep to schedule. For day-to-day operations the company also used other Volvo CE machines including, four DD100 asphalt compactors, two SD110 soil compactors, G930 graders, L120 wheeled loaders and an ABG7820
asphalt paver.

GR Infra Projects specialises in building highways and bridges across India, employing about 130 civil engineers. The company has successfully delivered over 150 road projects, including 3,200km in Rajasthan, Haryana, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand and the North-East, almost always being finished ahead of the completion date. GR Infra Projects commented that it is a first for the north-east region in that a highway of this magnitude has been completed ahead of schedule.

Road Structures Earthmoving & soil compaction Asphalt milling, paving & compaction

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • North African roads
    February 8, 2012
    Morocco has a rapidly expanding road network, which is benefiting from expertise offered by French contractor Colas. The quality of Morocco's roads is higher than in many other African countries, with much of this due to the use of the latest road construction technology by Colas. It previously took almost two days to go from Casablanca to Tan Tan in the south and this journey now takes less than eight hours. Colas has some 800 machines and vehicles in Morocco, with 70 graders, 70 wheeled loaders, 50 excava
    Read More
  • Volvo CE bridging the gap for new Indian transport links
    December 11, 2013
    The old Pakuria Bridge in Jharkhand, India, ran over a dry riverbed and railway line situated 20km from Calcutta. Now obsolete, the bridge has been brought to the ground in 60 days using Volvo construction equipment West Bengal in eastern India is the nation’s fourth most populous region, boasting more people than the whole of Germany. The state is bordered by Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and five other states of India with more than 91 million inhabitants spread over 34,267m².
    Read More
  • Building an airport for St Helena
    August 29, 2013
    The remote South Atlantic island of Saint Helena will shortly benefit from the construction of a new airport as well as access roads and supporting infrastructure. This is the biggest construction project in the history of the island, which lies nearly 2,000km off the coast of Africa. The airport is expected to boost economic development for the island’s 4,000 residents with an estimated 20,000 people a year forecasted to visit this highly remote, 122km2 equatorial volcanic outcrop. At present the islan
    Read More
  • Quality granite from Rajasthan quarry
    November 29, 2013
    High quality Desert Cream Granite is being extracted from a sprawling 300ha site in Mungeria, in the Indian state of Rajasthan. The Barmer district in West India spreads forms part of the Great Indian Desert, also known as the Thar Desert. In summer months temperatures can soar to 51°C and drop to freezing point in winter, while Barmer is also home to a specialty stone, the durable Desert Cream Granite.
    Read More

Highlighted Content