Motorists who have experienced a bumpy ride on the Kemp’s Corner flyover are in for some relief. After the Consulate General of Kuwait recently wrote to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) about the problem, the civic body has decided to repair the expansion joints of the flyover to eliminate bumps.
Last year, people had raised similar concerns about the flyover. However, securing traffic permission was and will be a task as it is a VIP stretch and the BMC might have to undertake work at night.
First flyover
India’s first flyover, the Kemp’s Corner flyover was thrown open to the public in 1965. In May this year, a picture of a crack in the flyover went viral on social media, creating alarm. Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray even took up the matter with the BMC, which later said that the ‘crack’ was a design flaw and had been there since the beginning.
On August 9, the Diplomatic Attache of the Consulate General of Kuwait wrote to the Municipal Commissioner about the deterioration of the flyover. It said that due to non-alignment of two slabs, there is a dip that is increasing in size, causing cars to bump badly and damaging them. There is a metal plate in every expansion joint, which over time becomes loose. When a car passes, the load shifts the plate leading to a bump.
The letter requested the BMC to address the fault, after which officers from the Bridges Department conducted a site visit. The BMC has now decided to overhaul the expansion joints.
“We appointed a consultant who has submitted a design to us. The design will require new technology wherein a joint will have bearings on one side and be riveted on the other. This will ensure that load is evenly distributed and the bump eliminated,” said a senior officer from the department.
The consultant is yet to work out the design’s cost and if it is feasible, the BMC will go ahead with it. The designs will undergo scrutiny and an approval process.
Work will take about two months and the BMC wants to do it before monsoon.