190-year-old Amrutanjan bridge on Mumbai-Pune expressway demolished

Chittaranjan Thembekar | TNN | Apr 5, 2020, 21:21 IST

Amrutanjan bridge (made up of stones) on Mumbai-Pune expressway that was built by railways for old Lonawala rail network was demolished by using a controlled blasting by the MSRDC at 5.45 pm today

MUMBAI: The 190-year-old Amrutanjan bridge (made up of stones) on Mumbai-Pune expressway that was built by railways for old Lonawala rail network was demolished by using a controlled blasting by the MSRDC at 5.45pm today.
The 2017 structural audit had suggested that the monumental bridge may not withstand the heavy traffic passing from below it and the rough weather during monsoon and may lead to accident such as collapse.

The highway police had strongly recommended its demolition as the bridge was four-lane structure standing in the middle of six-lane expressway
Taking advantage of poor traffic amid lockdown, MSRDC decided to blast it and remove the rubble. The rubble will be cleared in next 4 days for which 1200 truck trips will be made and till then the emergency traffic has been diverted via old khandala route, said MSRDC chief engineer Anil Gaikwad.

Bridge getting demolished
The highway police had strongly recommended its demolition as the bridge was four-lane structure standing in the middle of six-lane expressway resulting in a huge bottleneck right next to Pune bound tunnel on Lonavala stretch of expressway. MSRDC engineer said the lockdown helped in demolishing it at a cost of Rs 50 lakh or else amid live traffic the expenses on demolition would have cost Rs 4 crore and a time of 3 months. Now, once lockdown gets lifted the traffic will also move faster and reduce travel time, fuel and pollution. In Video:190-year-old Amrutanjan bridge on Mumbai-Pune expressway demolished