Central Railway block to dismantle Kalyan bridge adds to commuter woes

Mumbai: As scores of Ola and Uber driver partners resumed their protest on Sunday morning, a traffic block imposed by the Central Railway to dismantle the 104-year-old Patri Pul road over bridge in Kalyan added to the woes of suburban commuters.

There were traffic snarls on roads in the vicinity. Besides, huge crowd gathered to witness two steel girders of the bridge being dismantled by more than 300 workers and engineers. To facilitate the work, suburban services were suspended between Dombivli and Kalyan from 9.15 am to 2.30 pm. Eight trains to Nashik and Pune were cancelled while some others were rescheduled/short terminated or diverted. CR chief spokesperson Sunil Udasi said the work was completed an hour before schedule and the block cancelled at 2.30 pm (instead of 3.30 pm). "The first Mail Express passed at 2.40 pm, bringing relief to several commuters," he said. The traffic department, in a bid to ease traffic flow, issued orders for diverting some of the vehicles.

Citizens have demanded that the new bridge be constructed on a priority. For, the existing two-lane bridge adjoining to the old one is narrow. The bridge sees heavy traffic as it is a key connector between Kalyan and Navi Mumbai. Thousands of vehicles used to pass through the old Patri Pul bridge and these vehicles will now be diverted, causing traffic snarls in the vicinity, sources said.

The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) will be constructing a 7.5 metre-wide bridge at the site of the old one. MSRDC official Ram Jaiswar said that it will take at least a year to complete the new ROB. “We can commence the work once we get the approved design from IIT Bombay,” he said.