Mumbai: The 143 metre the longest second 'bowarch string' girder connecting the Mumbai Coastal road (MCR) and the Bandra-Worli Sea link (BWSL) was successfully launched at 6.07 am on May 15. With the girder setup, both the routes are now connected to the south and northbound lanes. In one of the challenging tasks, the girder was set up within three hours to keep an eye on tidal conditions in the sea, said the civic official.
The launching of the second girder was postponed to Tuesday morning due to unfavourable climatic conditions. On Wednesday, at 3 a.m., the civic officials, engineers and workers began setting up the girder again.
"While setting up the first girder, engineers had the flexibility and ample space needed for a smooth setup process. However, setting up the second girder posed a significant challenge due to limited space. Positioning the second girder just 2.8 metres away from the first one was a complex task. Keeping an eye on the tidal conditions, the girder was moved in stages towards the first girder. The mission was successfully completed at 6:07 a.m. after ensuring the mating cones on all sides were perfectly matched. Once completed, this will be India’s longest arch bridge passing through the open sea," said a senior civic official.
The two girders crucial for connecting both the routes will undergo cement concretisation in the next phase. Also, to prevent rusting, the BMC will be using Japanese technology, particularly the C-5 system, which has been utilised.
The second girder is relatively larger and wider than the first one. The girder measures 31.7 meters in width, 31 metres in height, and spans a length of 143 meters. Weighing 2,500 metric tons, various pre-fabricated parts of this girder were manufactured at Ambala, Haryana.
A barge departed from the Mazagaon Dock, carrying the second girder for setup, arrived at the Worli site on May 12. The southbound carriageway of the coastal road between Worli and Marine Drive in Mumbai was opened for traffic on March 12. The traffic hours on the road were extended from 12 hours to 16 hours between 7am to 11pm and on all days of the week on May 3. The entire road is expected to be opened to traffic by June.
