The National Highway 44 (NH 44) is India’s longest highway, stretching 3,745 km from Srinagar to Kanyakumari. As urbanization accelerated, cities along the highway grew rapidly, leading to a significant expansion of neighborhoods adjacent to the road. This growth has caused congestion, as pedestrians and light vehicles along the highway often disrupt the flow of long-haul heavy vehicles, creating safety risks for both local traffic and pedestrians.

To address these challenges, the Highway Authority of India proposed road widening, along with the construction of flyovers over stretches running through densely populated towns. A 34-km elevated stretch of highway between Nagpur and Hyderabad is being developed to improve connectivity between the two cities.

The authorities opted for segmental construction technology for the elevated bridges, with each heavy segment being precast in a controlled environment at quality-assured precast yards. Given the substantial size of the precast segments, the project required lifting equipment capable of handling heavy loads with ease.

Dextra’s hot-rolled fully threaded (FT) bars were the ideal solution to meet these requirements. Over 100 sets of FT post-tensioning bars, along with accessories like end nuts and couplers, have been supplied for lifting and launching the precast segments using a launching girder.

Dextra’s FT Bar systems are commonly used in temporary applications such as heavy lifting, stitching precast elements, and anchoring steel frame supports. For permanent applications, FT Bars are also suitable for connecting girders and piers in segmental bridge construction.