Mumbai: The BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will be appointing Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) to conduct the structural audit for the 24 skywalk bridges in the city and its suburbs for which it will be spending Rs 1,24,75,000. These bridges were constructed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and were handed over to the BMC in 2015. They crossed the defective liability time frame (DLT) in 2017.
The corporation will be giving Rs 1,24,75,000 to VJTI as consultation charges, since VJTI is an educational institute, which will also include stamp duty charges. The work is estimated to complete in 12 months. A proposal to conduct the structural audit will be tabled in the upcoming standing committee meeting.
This move comes after the collapse of the Himalaya bridge at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus on March 14, 2019. Following the incident, a structural audit of all the FOBs, skywalks and other bridges were conducted. Bridges found to be in a dangerous state were closed for public use.
“After the incident of the Himalaya FOB, we conducted a structural audit of the bridges and found that many bridges required minor and major repair work. Some have already been razed down for reconstruction. To avoid any such incidents, since the 24 skywalks have already crossed their DLT, we will be taking VJTI’s help,” said Sanjay Darade, chief engineer, Roads and Bridges Department.
