Mumbai: WR finally begins audit of bridges after Andheri collapse

Representational picture

Western Railway Mumbai had started the structural audit of all the Road Over Bridges (ROBs) in its suburban section from Friday beginning with the inspection of Mahalaxmi and Bandra Road Over Bridges with the new time-saving method through bridge inspection car like tower wagon.

Western Railway chief public relations officer Ravinder Bhakar said a new mode of inspection which includes a tower wagon has been devised to save the inspection time to only two hours against the four hours required for inspection by the conventional method.

"Thus, 50% of inspection time is saved by this new inspection method. The conventional method makes the task difficult for the staff as they have to carry tools and equipment while climbing on the long ladder. In the Mumbai Suburban Section (Churchgate-Virar) there are 110 foot over bridges, 29 road over bridges and four water pipeline bridges," he added.

Giving details of the bridge, Bhakar said, "The Mahalaxmi road over bridge was constructed in 1920 & has 15 girders with five spans. After the inspection, between 1 am to 1:45pm, the bridge was found to be structurally sound and in safe condition.

Similarly, inspection of the Bandra Kalanagar Road Over Bridge, constructed in the year 1961, which includes 13 girders with three spans and 3 numbers of spans, was also carried between 1 am to 4am and was also found to be structurally sound and in safe condition.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates