Mumbai: Only one-third of city bridges in good shape

The BMC has closed Patel foot overbridge on Charni Road (West) station. The structural audit suggests reconstruction. Pic/Atul Kamble

Less than one-third of the bridges in the city are in sound condition, as per the ongoing audit of the BMC. Of the 448 bridges across the city, 108 bridges - 104 in western suburbs and 4 in city - are yet to be audited. Of the 340 bridges audited, 54 are in dilapidated condition and need reconstruction. Work has already started on half of these bridges. Civic officials urged citizens to not panic as the audit is an ongoing process and repair works will be carried out in phased-manner to avoid affecting vehicular movement.

The collapse of the Himalaya foot overbridge in CST and Gokhale FOB in Andheri highlighted the need for regular checks of bridges. Following this, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation appointed consultants to carry out annual structural audits of bridges before and after monsoon. The BMC has appointed M/s Structronics Consulting Engineers to carry out audits of bridges in the island city and eastern suburbs and M/s SCG Consultancy Services for western suburbs, for a period of five years at a cost of R16 crore. The order was issued in April. The audit of the bridges in western suburbs is still ongoing.

"The civic body used to routinely inspect the bridges earlier, but has now decided to conduct proper structural audits. Most of the bridges in Mumbai are over 50 years old. Regular inspection will ensure safety and immediate repairs if required," said an official from the BMC's bridges department. As per the structural audits done so far, only 101 of the 340 bridges, or less than 30 per cent, are in sound condition. Most of these bridges are either new or are still under the defect liability period. The audit also found out that 183 bridges are in need of minor or major repairs and 54 are in dilapidated condition.

Also Read: Gokhale Road bridge has visible cracks and corrosions: Structural audit report

Of the 94 bridges in south Mumbai, audit reports of four are awaited and five need to be reconstructed. This includes Patel FOB outside Charni Road station. The eastern suburbs have a total of 177 bridges of which 31 need reconstruction. In the western suburbs, only 73 bridges have been audited so far, of which 14 need to be reconstructed. "Audit is an ongoing process and recommendation in the report is not the final word. We discuss the reports with experts, analyse all the possibilities, study traffic diversions and then take the final call. The process of repairing is going on and there is no need to panic," said Sanjay Kaudhanyapure, chief of bridges department.

Bridges in the city

224
No of bridges over rivers or nullahs

156
No of FOBs, subways, skywalks

46
No of bridges over railway tracks

22
No of flyovers

448
Total flyovers