BMC to reduce flab from four ROBs to prevent more bridge crashes

MUMBAI: Taking a lesson out of bridge collapses in the city, which resulted in several deaths, the BMC wants to make four bridges in the suburbs lighter. The cost of doing so works out to Rs 4 crore. All four bridges (see graphic) run over railway tracks and are in the P and R wards, which include Goregaon, Malad, Borivli, and Kandivli.
The plan to make the bridges lighter follows from a joint safety audit of all ROBs in the city by IIT-Bombay and the railways. The audit report was submitted to the BMC in September last year. “It suggested that there was a need to reduce load from ROBs in P and R wards by scraping off the top two layers, and replacing them just with mastic asphalt. Most of these ROBs were built between 1995 and 2000. They are not only old, but the volume of traffic they get has increased considerably over the years,” said a civic official. “There are plans to take up weight-reduction work on more bridges in the future.”

The work will result in a 5-10% weight reduction. In terms of ‘per sq metre’, at least 200kg is expected to be reduced. The municipal administration said that it will table a work proposal before the civic standing committee on Friday for its approval. The BMC intends to appoint Pinakee Engineers & Developers for the project. “Once we receive approval, work can immediately begin. The contractor would be given six months to finish the project,” the official said.
On July 3, 2018, the pedestrian section of a bridge linking Andheri East and West collapsed, leading to the death of two persons; three were injured. Last year, on March14, a foot over-bridge at the northern end of CSMT’s suburban rail section crashed, killings seven individuals and injuring over 30. The police lodged an FIR against some BMC officials for causing death due to negligence. The cause of the crash, as per an initial investigation report, pointed to joint failure due to corrosion-related weakening of welds.