The repair work on the Sion Flyover has been going on for a while now. The flyover is one of the most important routes in Mumbai that connects the city with the Eastern Express Highway. However, adding to the citizens' woes, the vehicles travelling between the eastern suburbs and south Mumbai are likely to face traffic snarls for the next seven weeks starting today.
The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has decided that it will begin repair works on the Sion flyover from February 14. During the said tenure, MSRDC plans to replace the bearing and expansion joints of the flyover.
The flyover will be shut for vehicular traffic from 5:00 am on February 14 (Friday) to 5:00 am on February 17 (Monday). On the other hand, the flyover will remain shut for seven weeks after February 17, from 10:00 pm, every Thursday to 6:00 am every Monday.
Once MSRDC completes this, it will shut the flyover for 20 more days in April to relay the surface with concrete.
A 2017 audit report submitted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) mentioned that the pillars of the bridge had become weak and hence repairing the same on the immediate basis was the necessary measure suggested by the experts. In March 2019, a concrete plate of the flyover collapsed, resulting in a ban on heavy vehicles on it.
The flyover constructed in 1999, is a major route that connects the city with the eastern suburbs. And yet, the repairs have been delayed by three years owing to various issues, including designs for bearings and permissions from the traffic police.
However, the police seem optimistic about the vehicular traffic near the bridge and they have stated that the repair work will not cause too much chaos.
“The repair work of the Sion flyover will happen only on weekends and during this time vehicles can pass under the flyover,” Pravin Padwal, additional commissioner of police (traffic) told HT.
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