MUMBAI: Work on the demolition of
Delisle bridge in Lower Parel is to begin from Monday. The Western Railway has finalised the contractor and it will take at least three months to complete the work.
Delisle bridge, which connects important areas in south Mumbai, has been closed after an safety audit led by IIT-Bombay termed it unsafe.
The contract was awarded for Rs 7.2 crore, said a senior WR official. "It will take three months to demolish the bridge," the official said.
The WR has ready given a deadline to BMC for removal of utility lines by August 20, failing which it will take up the work on its own.
A number of
public utility elements like cables, wires and ducts pass through the bridge.
"The work will begin in two days," the official said. "The contractor will first begin removing the layer of
asphalt."
The WR will operate a series of railway blocks to remove to enable the removal of asphalt and concrete. The final block will last 24 hours to 36 hours for the final removal of girders and piers.
The contractor will finalise the demolition scheme in 10 days, which will be sent to the commissioner of railway safety (CRS), Western Circle, for approval.
The WR considers the work one of its most challenging tasks as the bridge is at an angle of 65 degrees to the tracks and no one is sure which part of it is holding up the load.
The bridge does not have any turf, as a result of which demolition work will require much planning and precise execution to ensure there is no damage to the OHE or the track from falling debris. The total area of the bridge above the railway tracks is 1,500 sq m.
A total of 250 pieces of 6 sq m concrete will have to removed during every block.
Blocks will be operated for three hours at night or on Sundays to remove the 60 cm concrete below the asphalt.
The demolition will cost Rs 7.2cr.
