The old Patripool bridge in Kalyan will be dismantled this Sunday, for which Central Railway (CR) will be announcing a six-hour long megablock during the day. The bridge had been classified as dangerous by a joint inspection team of CR engineers and experts from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B).
“We have sent a proposal to the Railway Board to approve the megablock,” a senior railway official said. Chief Public Relations Officer, CR, Sunil Udasi said that the dismantling is scheduled between 9.30 a.m. and 3.30 p.m. during which there will be a megablock at Kalyan station. According to sources, around 150 suburban services and six pairs of long distance trains will be cancelled. “We will also divert several long distance trains via alternate routes,” a senior officer said. “Suburban services will run from Karjat and Kasara to Kalyan and from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus to Dombivali,” a senior railway official said.
The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation was looking after the maintenance of the bridge and will build a new bridge in lieu of the one that will be dismantled.
Joint inspection
The Patripool bridge was built in 1914 and CR had initiated the demolition process in August after it was declared unsafe during joint inspections, carried out in the aftermath of the bridge collapse in Andheri that claimed two lives.
The 80-metre bridge is a vital east-west connector and was being used by thousands of motorists daily. While a new bridge was built around 20 years ago, the old bridge continued to be used by motorists, despite it being declared unsafe for heavy vehicles in 2014.
