Motorists taking the eastern express highway (EEH), brace for traffic woes as the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) plans to shut the Sion flyover for two months from April 20 for repair works. This comes a day after a concrete plate of the flyover, which is an important connector to reach south Mumbai from the eastern suburbs, collapsed.

The repairs for the bridge, which was constructed in 2000, have been delayed for over a year owing to several reasons, including designs for the bearings and permissions from traffic police.

According to MSRDC officials, a study conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology‘s (IIT) civil engineering department stated that the flyover required remedial measures for its badly damaged bearings and expansion joints. A total of 170 bearings on the entire stretch are set to be replaced in two months. Bearings help control movement between piers and girders of the bridge.

After Thursday’s incident, heavy vehicles have been banned on the bridge from Friday morning, said an MSRDC official. Siddharth Shiva, a resident of Sion, said the repairs were long overdue. “The repairs are essential. However, if the authorities had opened the Sion-Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) connector by now, it would have been better for motorists.” The traffic situation on the EEH will also worsen owing to the construction of Metro-4 (Wadala-Thane-Kasarvadavali), which is currently being undertaken by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA.

First Published: Mar 30, 2019 00:35 IST