Ghatkopar: Shut over ‘minor cracks’, road overbridge reopens after 12 hours

The railways has also asked the BMC to shift the utility cables and water pipes, arrest the leakage and remove hutments on the west side of the bridge, which were discharging water onto it, leading to further deterioration.

A road overbridge (ROB) in Ghatkopar was shut for nearly 12 hours on Sunday after minor cracks were noticed on one of its walls. While traffic resumed in the afternoon, after authorities gave a go-ahead, the railways has asked the BMC to urgently repair the footpath on the section. Cracks were noticed on the ROB between Ghatkopar and Vikhroli stations on the Ghatkopar-Andheri Link Road at 2 am. The road was immediately shut for traffic as a precautionary measure and the BMC and Central Railways were informed.

On Sunday morning, a joint inspection of the bridge was conducted by both the agencies, and the stretch was declared safe for traffic by 1 pm, said Saurabh Tripathi, deputy commissioner of police (traffic). During inspection, the railways noted that the footpath on Vikhroli was “unsafe” and needed to be closed for pedestrians immediately.

In a letter to the BMC, the railways added that the footpath “is overburdened with 400-mm-thick additional load of paver blocks, along with utility services such as power, telephone and optical fibre cables, and water pipelines. Continuous water seepage is observed from the footpath to reinforced cement concrete piers, which will deteriorate the RCC columns”.

The railways has also asked the BMC to shift the utility cables and water pipes, arrest the leakage and remove hutments on the west side of the bridge, which were discharging water onto it, leading to further deterioration.