After 13 months, Mumbaiites can finally take Amar Mahal flyover to travel to Thane

The Maharashtra government opened the northbound (towards Thane) stretch of Amar Mahal junction flyover on Monday, which promises to reduce congestion on the route. Those travelling towards Mumbai will have to wait until September to use the southbound stretch of the flyover.

The northbound stretch was shut for vehicular traffic on April 8, 2017, after two of its joints were found to be damaged. Later, an expert committee headed by Dr Ravi Sinha, professor of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B), found that 10 joints of the flyover were damaged and recommended immediate replacement of the 230-m superstructure of the flyover. A superstructure is the part between the pillars and deck of a flyover. As the superstructure of Amar Mahal flyover is made of steel, the excess load damaged the joints.

Taking the recommendations into account, the PWD decided to take up the work in two phases. It appointed Nagarjuna Construction Company (NCC) for the job after floating tenders.

Initially, the PWD had set a deadline of March 2018 to complete the work, but the state decided to reduce the height of the junction flyover by 2m to make way for Metro-4 (Wadala-Kasarwadavali), which caused further delay. “We decided to open the road as the work is complete. This will help us reduce traffic congestion at least on one side,” said CP Joshi, secretary (roads), state public works department (PWD).