BMC: 18 bridges beyond repairs, need rebuilding

MUMBAI:THE pending structural audit of 296 bridges in the city by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has revealed that 18 connectors will have to be demolished and rebuilt. The list includes 10 major bridges and eight foot over-bridges (FOBS). Some of these structures belong to the British era.

The bridges were audited following the 2016 Mahad bridge collapse on Savitri river, which claimed 41 lives. The report was delayed and got consolidated this year after Gokhale bridge at Andheri collapsed in July. The report was submitted to municipal commissioner in August.

The contract to reconstruct the bridges will be issued in the next two months. Depending on the age of the bridge, demolition work will start.

A senior civic official from the bridges department said, “The report, which is yet to be made public, states 110 bridges are in good condition; 61 need major repairs owing to faulty bearings or have structural issues and 107 need minor repairs such as resurfacing and painting.”

He added tendering process for major repairs and reconstruction is underway and contracts will be awarded soon.

“As the bridges department

does not have workers, even for minor repairs, contractors will be appointed. While repairs are likely to conclude within a year, reconstruction of the bridges will take time,’’ he said.

BMC officials said they will chalk out alternative routes so that commuters are not inconvenienced once the work begins.

One of the reasons the audit report was delayed was because important posts in the bridges department were vacant. Since July 1, all three posts of deputy chief engineers have been lying vacant. Moreover, the department lacks a dedicated chief engineer. Sanjay Darade, chief engineer for development plan department, was appointed as the is the acting chief engineer (Bridges).

On 5 September, Rajan Talkar was hired as deputy chief engineer. He will handle all the three posts for the city and the western and eastern suburbs.