The BMC has decided to make four suburban bridges lighter by cutting down a bulk of the unnecessary materials from the structures. The work will be undertaken in bridges of in Goregaon, Malad, Borivli, and Kandivli respectively. These bridges are located in the P and R wards while they also come under railway tracks in the region.
It is said that the proposed work will offer a weight reduction of 5-10% which could significantly benefit the health of these four bridges. The authorities have come under fire in the recent past regarding bridge collapses in the city that have led to multiple casualties. This new proposal to reduce the weight of existing bridges appears to be a consequence of that.
“It suggested that there was a need to reduce the load from ROBs in P and R wards by scraping off the top two layers and replacing them just with mastic asphalt. Most of these ROBs were built between 1995 and 2000. They are not only old, but the volume of traffic they get has increased considerably over the years,“ as per a civic official. “There are plans to take up weight-reduction work on more bridges in the future,” the official added.
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Further, the BMC is said to be offering the MMRDA around Rs 45.1 crore to reconstruct the bridge on Hans Bhugra Marg in Vakola. The authorities declared this bridge dilapidated last year. After discussions between officials of the BMC and MMRDA, it was reportedly decided that the BMC will undertake the construction of the bridge at Vakola.
In July 2018, a pedestrian portion of a bridge that connects Andheri East and West collapsed which led to the death of seven individuals while injuring over 30 people. Subsequent investigations found that the reason for the collapse was cited as the weakening of the bridge’s welds due to corrosion.
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