Mumbai: New Charni Road ROB may be opened by July

MUMBAI: After dismantling the girders for British-era Frere Road overbridge, the Western Railway announced on Sunday that it had decided to expedite rebuilding of this ROB and inaugurate it a month before the stipulated deadline of July 16. The primary reason is that the closure of this ROB, situated between Grant Road and Charni Road, has led to numerous traffic snarls in the area.
A senior WR official said, "We got all the paperwork done and the sanctions were in place for all stages of the project before the dismantling work had commenced in January. We have also approved the design for the new girders which are being fabricated at our workshop. Work is on in full swing and we expect the new girders to arrive in a month."
The official admitted the closure of the old ROB had inconvenienced scores of motorists. The WR has informed the BMC to speed up its work on the approach roads to the ROB so that this gets completed simulataneously to avoid delays.
The final bridge will have four lanes with a divider (which was not present in the old structure) to regulate the flow of traffic in both directions. When contacted, WR chief spokesperson Ravinder Bhakar said the dismantling work was a tedious and lengthy process. "Around 220 metric tonnes of steel and a 350sq m slab was removed within just 24 days."