The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has proposed structural repairs to nine major bridges, including Princess Street flyover and Juhu Tara Road, at a cost of over ₹31 crore. A proposal will be tabled before the Standing Committee on Wednesday.
After the Mahad bridge and the Andheri bridge collapse, the BMC ordered a structural audit of 344 road over-bridges (ROBs), foot over-bridges (FOBs) and flyovers across the city. It found that 223 required repairs, with 176 requiring minor repairs and 47 needing major repairs. The Hindu had reported that 18 bridges were dilapidated and would have to be reconstructed.
The Bridges Department has now moved a proposal to repair nine bridges. These include bridges at Juhu Tara Road (near SNDT), Dhobi Ghat (Majas nullah, Andheri), Lokhandwala Complex (near Kamat Club, Andheri West). The project cost is ₹3.79 crore and the BMC has finalised M.E. Infraprojects for the job. Work is expected to take a year.
The other proposal is to repair Princess Street flyover, FOB at Vidyabhavan, Kemps Corner flyover, Kennedy Bridge, Bellasis Road ROB, Reay Road ROB. The project will cost ₹28.03 crore, and the BMC has finalised The Fresinet Prestressed Concrete Ltd for the job. Work is expected to take 18 months.
The entire auditing exercise cost BMC ₹3 crore.
Meanwhile, repairs to the 223 bridges will cost around ₹200 crore. As work progresses, traffic will be affected at least around the bridges that need demolition and major repairs.
In some spots, traffic may be diverted on an alternate route. But in most cases of minor repairs, work is expected to be done rapidly and may not affect motorists.
Some of the proposals already moved by BMC for major repairs include Govandi East West flyover on the Eastern Express Highway, Garodiya Nagar (Vidyavihar East bridge), and D'Souza Nagar bridge (Kurla). The proposals have already been sent to the Standing Committee earlier this month.
