Five rail over bridges that needed to be repaired at the earliest, will finally be fixed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Bridges near the Mahalaxmi Railway Station, Curry Road station, Sion station, Dharavi, and Dadar station will be repaired over a span of 18 months . The project will include foot over bridges at the Dadar flower market and at Mahim.
The civic body has estimated the total cost of repair at Rs 17 crores. Sources in the civic body said that none of the bridges will be closed during the repair work and hence, it will not affect traffic movement.
After surveying all 344 bridges in the city, the BMC is granting permits for the repair of as many as 223 bridges in phases. The bridges include foot over bridges (FOBs), flyovers, skywalks, and even rail over bridge (ROBs). Of the 223 bridges, 176 require minor repairs while 47 require serious attention.
The civic administration had earlier tabled the proposal of repairing city's bridges in the standing committee meeting. An officer from the BMC's bridge department said, “The major repair work on rail over bridges involves plastering and strengthening, which can be done beneath the bridge. Even if it requires surfacing, it will be done in phases, at night. Traffic movement will, therefore, not be affected.”
In its first phase of repairing, the BMC took up bridges at Mulund, Ghatkopar, Bhandup, Kurla, Dahisar, Borivali, Kandivali, Malad, and Goregaon. The structural auditors have suggested reconstruction of 14 bridges. Of these, three have already been demolished by the civic body. Nearly Rs 3 crore has been spent on the audit, sources said.
