Army seeks Rs 13.6 crore for three foot overbridges; to begin construction by November 20

THE ARMY has sought a funding of Rs13.6 crore to construct three foot overbridges (FOB) at railway stations on Central and Western Railway, said senior officials from the railways. The Army officials would begin marking the location Wednesday and are expected to start the construction work by November 20.

At a meeting between officials from the Bombay Sappers group, the military unit which will carry out the work, and the railway officials at the ER headquarters in Churchgate on Tuesday, the Army officials inquired about the assistance the railways would provide them to carry out the project. Details on accommodation of the Army officials in the city and the required hours of mega-block to carry out the work on the railway premises were also discussed.

“We discussed about the co-ordination they would need from the railways. They showed us the rough estimate of the cost of the bridges. While the cost of making the extended portion of the Parel station bridge till the western side would be Rs 5.7 crore, the bridge at Currey Road would cost up to Rs 3.9 and the one at Ambivali would cost Rs 4 crore. The cost also covers the work of making a cover over the bridges,” said a senior railway official.

While the width of each FOB will be around 3.5-3.9 metres, the Parel-Elphinstone Road bridge will be 250-foot long. Bridges at Currey Road and Ambivali stations are expected to be shorter than that.

“In the initial phase of the project, 10 Army officials will be deployed and 40 more will join them in the next phase. The first phase will be laying the foundation while the next phase include constructing the bridge,” said an official.

The Army officials have been asked to finalise the design of the bridges by the week-end and submit the design to the railways and Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), officials said.

“We hope to get the design by this weekend. It will also need to get CRS sanction before we start the work. Officials from the Bombay Sappers group have assured us that the bridges will be permanent and sturdy,” said an official.