Soon, Byculla bridge to be closed for heavy vehicles

MUMBAI: The Central Railway (CR) will soon restrict entry for heavy vehicles on the Byculla road overbridge (ROB). According to officials, this is because a recent inspection revealed some defects in the structure of the bridge, which crosses over Byculla railway station.

The ROB is heavily used by two-, four-wheelers and heavy vehicles, which is why railway authorities are discussing with the traffic police on creating a plan to create diversion.

“The bridge is heavily used and imposing restrictions will be difficult. We are holding regular meetings to identify alternate routes for vehicles,” said a senior CR official.

A committee comprising experts from Iit-bombay, CR and Western Railway (WR) officials, had inspected the bridge and found problems with the structure, “The bridge is old and weak, which makes it more dangerous for heavy vehicles. There are other issues with the structure as well, which is why the restrictions are being implemented,” said the official.

The date on implementing the restrictions will be decided soon,

officials said. “We are awaiting official communication from IIT experts and will then impose restrictions on heavy vehicles,” said Sunil Udasi, chief public relation officer, CR.

A team of experts from IIT, CR and WR are currently inspecting

445 structures, which are built over railway tracks. So far, the team identified issues with Lower Parel ROB, which resulted in WR shutting the bridge in July. Recently, Patripool ROB in Kalyan was dismantled by the CR.